Need Help with Acid Reflux

It sounds like she is just really hungry and eating so fast she spits it up. It scares me the way the doctors push these drugs. Try feeding her more times per day. Also give her some water in between. I never heard of a baby having acid reflux until just recently. It must just be the drug of choice right now. Remember they get money from pushing these meds. www.webmd.com is a good site to diagnose things. I seriously doubt she has acid reflux. If she does she would throw up more then just her food. It's just a fancy word for acid indigestion anyway. Odviously the doctor is unsure what is wrong, or you wouldn't have to be putting cereal in a bottle. Maybe it's time to start feeding her with a spoon. You may want to try to mix the cereal regular and feed her a little to start. If she digests it ok, she will be fine. She is a little young for it, but in another month and a half it would be time anyway. Is she a big baby? She may be more advanced then other babies. All kids don't progress the same. They go by averages anyway. My son was starting with regular food by the time he was 6 months. He was never over weight or anything. Never had any med problems. He did however down his bottles fast and throw up. He acted like he was starving. You have to use your judgement and don't listen to the doctor too much. They are only human. I think they forget half of what they learn in college too. They are always coming up with new ways of doing things too. One week they will do it this way, the next its a whole new set of rules. Even my sons ped. told me that. I don't like giving meds to kids, unless it's seriously needed. They could screw up their systems. I don't care what the doctors say. Half of what they tell you is opinions anyway.

1 mom found this helpful

She could still be hungry. If it is ok with the doctor, try 6 ounces instead. I was told when my son was young that I'll know when he has enough because he will spit up (or overflow). She could also be having a short term grown spurt and need more for a few days.

If it is the sucking comfort she craves, try the green soothie pacifiers that they use in the hospitals. My son is now 7 months and really loves his paci.

Good luck.

She sounds like she's in pain. Bottles are notorious for gas issues and cereal shouldn't be necessary to keep her formula down if it's true reflux. She would still be spitting it up even with it, without the medicine. Make sure to burp her well about half way through the bottle, then again after she finishes.

Have her issues gotten worse since your switch to soy? Or are they unchanged? You may also want to consider switching nipples. You shouldn't have to do anything to the nipple to allow for the thicker consistency. Try <http://www.aventamerica.com/pdf/pdf/flow_rate_chart_rev5....;

Wishing you the best.

Blessings,
Rolinda
Wife, Mother, Friend

Hiya F.,
My son had the same thing at 6 weeks. When I tried soy and rice cereal, it got him constipated. I would suggest oatmeal cereal instead of rice (rice is binding). I too had to battle with the nipple. I stopped putting cereal in the bottle and used a slow flow. I also switched to Nutramigen by Enfamil instead of soy. He didn't spit it up at all and was then a very happy baby. Now he is on Nestle Good Start and is thriving. My suggestion is if she wants more than give her more! They tell us when they are hungry and they tell us when they are full. (well, mine does anyway by turning his head or pushing it away.) So, hope that helped and good luck to ya!

Perhaps feeding her more as long as she doesn't throw it up. My nephew was taken 6 oz every 4 hours at 6 weeks old because he was always hungry. My sister's doctor told her to feed him alittle more to see if the problem was hunger and it was.

I used to put a tablespoon of baby cereal in my baby boy's bottle when they would get to a growth spurt... so I have experience with that problem... my best idea is this: use needle nose pliers and hold a straight pin or sewing needle and use a match or heat from a gas burner to heat the needle or pin then when it slightly cools slide it in the hole of the nipple... try it then and if you need it a bit bigger then do it a little at a time so the you can see how big you need it without getting it 'too big'... good luck...

S.
Elizabethville Pa

Not sure what kind of bottles you are using, but Advent has nipples just for thicker formulas, so I'm sure other brands do as well.

My son is 6.5 mos old and has reflux pretty badly, although he doesn't throw up, he just gets a lot of pain from it. They switched him to Prevacid about 2mos ago and it's made all the difference for him; Zantac did absolutely nothing for him, unfortunately.

Hope that helps.

Our little girl, now 15 months, also had some issues with acid reflux as a teenie weenie. Once we switched her formula to soy, and limited the amount she would get per feeding, the problem stopped. Her appetite was always very good (she earned the nickname Moo), so if we let her eat as much as she felt she wanted, it would be too much for her tiny tummy, and would start to come back up. Your doctor should be able to suggest the right amount to offer per feeding. Her stomach is probably not much bigger than a quarter right now.
Our pediatrician did not encourage adding any cerals to her formula, for several reasons. When so young, their system really can't process it yet. Some warn it's not good for baby's digestive tract too early. Also, adding it into formula would have made teaching her to eat cereal on its own more difficult. He felt keeping the two seperate was the best way to go. I know different people use different approaches, just letting you know what ours suggested for the same issue...
Also, we found that the best nipple/bottle combo for us was Avent. It's supposedly the most like mom's nipple. Doesn't let contents of bottle out too fast, or too slowly.
A piece of good news: in spite of having been on soy due to reflux, when it was time to switch her to whole milk at 12 months, she had no problems digesting milk at all. We just starting mixing a little more into her formula at a time, to help her adjust to the taste, until it was pure milk. Now, 'nilk' is her favorite drink.
Good luck!

When my daughter had reflux we used zantac and added rice to her bottle too and we had to switch avent bottles which have flow control nipples that were a god send. She sucked down her bottles so fast until we go those bottles. What also helped us was burping her after every 1/2 ounce. If you hav any further questions feel free to contact me:)

They make nipples with wider holes now for cereal. You should be able to find them at Wal-Mart or Target, but if you can't you can probably find them online at \Playtex or another bottle manufacturer. When my kids were little, I don't know how many nipples I ruined with steak knives. Good Luck.

my daughter was also dx with gerds at that age,she is now 14 and still has gerds and takes meds as well.She was changed to soy as well when she was a baby,i know the problem you are having with the bottle hole.Just keep trying to get the hole in the nipple right,i always used a knife to do it.Took me a coulpe of trys too,so don't worry,you will get it.Best of luck to you.

My youngest daughter had acid reflux too. I only gave her the meds for a month then I stopped because I felt it wasn't helping. Try feeding her smaller more frequent meals and keep her sitting upright after each feeding for at least 30 minutes. Did the doc tell you to put the ceral in the bottle because my doc advised against that. If you are trying to fill her up then just feed it to her with a spoon. Both my kids had to go on ceral that young because they ate that much. Good luck with the acid reflux, I know it can be trying.