Newborn Reflux/post Partum Depression

I don't have any advice for the reflux issues, but my son only wanted to be held. And if I put him down he would scream until he puked. The only break my arms got was a fisher price side to side swing or wearing him in a carrier. When he started crawling I was able to put him down more.

My two favorite baby carriers are a Moby wrap http://www.mobywrap.com/ and a Ergo carrier http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/. A moby is a tie wrap- super comfy soft fabric. The ergo is more of a baby backpack, but you can also wear them on the hip or in front. Both carriers carry babies upright, which I have heard is more comfortable for babies w/ reflux.

A baby carrier is great when you need your hands free to corral your busy toddler. HTH!

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My son had reflux really bad. My doctor prescribed Prevacid and he was on it for about 5 months. He still spit up all the time but it didn't cause him pain anymore. I also had him sleep on an incline, when he would let me!! After we started the Prevacid, things started flowing a lot more smoothly. So maybe ask you doctor about that. My doctor also suggested raising one end of the bed a little. I put some phone books under one end of my son's crib, but honestly he didn't sleep as well on an incline so I just gave him his medicine and he did pretty well. Hang in there! You will get it sorted out. I am about to have my second in January so I will soon be figuring out all this stuff again. Those first few months are the hardest as far as getting them lined out I remember, but things do get better including your emotions. Good luck and congratulations!!

I could have written your post as well. I am currently experiencing pretty much the same thing. My son is 7 weeks old and although he will nap and sleep at night, when he is awake he is whiny. The only thing that calms him is swaddling, being held or the Moby Wrap. He loves pressure on his tummy. I have read the responses and have experienced success with him sleeping on his stomach, but I am reluctant to do it without me right there due to the SIDS risk.

I just want you to know you are not alone.

My son didnt out grown his GIRD until he was nearly four. The bouts reduced incredibly when he reached 18 months but he still paces himself to many small meals rather than large meals at 'meal time' (he is 13)

What helped me survive: setting up his crib to be at least at a 45degree angle (there are special pillows/mattresses now)

nap with him on my chest while I sat in an armchair and he was in the sling - be very careful; even with a sling and blanket- I once awoke when he nearly leaped off my chest
(I caught him but woe)

Forgave myself for an untidy house and asked for help-
I swallowed alot of pride and asked my mom, mother in law, sisters in law, cousins,grandparents, friends- anyone who loved to visit anyway for help.
Oh they loved to play with the babies while I showered; cleaned house; did laundry;cooked (or ate what they brought) and best of all- I got through my loneliness

Going from being a very social young woman to a very occupied young mom was a lonely experience especially during my husband's busy seasons at work

I believe if I didnt invite my family and friends over as much as I did; my baby blues may have plummetted into something worse (depression runs in my family)

I dealt with reflux with my son, now almost 3yrs, and now my daughter, 2 1/2 months. I had a much more difficult time with it the first time around. My child's inability to sleep lead to my inability to sleep which inturn lead to sleep deprivation and eventually post partum depression (PPD). Unfortunately it I did not get help soon enough for the depression thinking it was normal and would go away. It was not untill the psychosis set in that I realized that I HAD to do something...for everyones sake. I am not saying this will happen to you and hope to God that it doesn't but if you think you are headed in the direction of PPD please get help early and by someone who believes in PPD. Mine lasted for 20 months and I have very ugly, sad feelings about those first 20 months of my sons life. This time around I got set up with PPD support before birth and I think because I am more mentally stable (it's hard to be totally stable with a new born and toddler no matter what) I can deal with the reflux better. Or maybe its because it is the second time I don't know. Unfortunatley, no one can say for sure how long your baby's reflux will last, and the guidlines always sound too long to handle anyway. But it will end and your baby will start to sleep better. In the meantime try to get help for yourself. I have recently started going to a post partum support group. It is really helpful to hear everyone's stories and get advise or just support from the other mothers, and oddly enough alot of the mothers there have dealt with reflux babies too. The group is held at Family Connections (825 East 53rd 1/2 Street, Austin, TX 78751-1625,###-###-####) on Thursday at 10 am and there is also a group on Tuesday at 6 pm in south Austin in the Texas Oncology building on James Casey. I know the Thursday group is going to meet on the 17th and then take a break for a couple weeks over the holidays. And don't worry about childcare, there are kids from 5 weeks to 4 years there that I have seen. You can find out a little on the family connections site, familyconnectionsonline.org. Oh, and the groups are run by psychologists who specialize in PPD.

I have a lot of guilt when it comes to the amount of time I can spend with my son right now. I try to keep reminding myself that this is temporary and that I am doing everything I can for him at this time and he is getting his needs met sufficiently right now.

Anyway, you can contact me directly if you like, I would be very happy to talk with you more. We could set up a time to meet or just exchange phone numbers too. I'm sorry this messeage is broken and rushed, my infant is currently crying in her swing. I hope you come to the meeting or contact me.

You ask if your son will "out grow" the reflux and this is related to what I am wondering: how long is he supposed to be on Prilosec? Prilosec is for the symptoms - not the problem, and the problem needs to be directly addressed with diet. I have seen this treated successfully in at least one very severe case, and this was way before Prilosec, which would not have helped anyway. This problem is not well understood in western medicine - obviously with so many people not being helped with this problem. We can do much better than this if you are willing to understand the root of the problem rather than treating symptoms. Which, in the long run can make this worse, and your son should not have to suffer his whole life with this. Unfortunately, I cannot give you my professional advice in this forum, but again I have seen this treated successfully, so know that there is hope if you are willing to investigate and find help. Best of luck to you!

i compeletlely understand the reflux issue. both kids have had it (2 yrs old and 4 months old). the best advice i can give you is wear a baby bjorn or sling. it's the only way you will get anything accomplished. it sucks, but makes life more bearable. my older daughter was on prilosec until 21/22 months old. most kids get off earlier though. she also hated the swing, car seat, bouncy seat also. she would only be calm if i was holding her and/or rocking her (while standing up) in a certain way. with both kids i would put on their stomachs for naps while i could watch them (video monitor) to make sure they weren't burying their face into the mattress. my younger daughter sleeps on her side at night b/c it is the ONLY way she will sleep. from what i have researched sids is more recently associated with lack of oxygen b/c they are breathing in carbon dioxide they expelled, not fresh air when their face is buried in something like a pillow/mattress/bumper. when they are younger they are unable to realize they need fresh air and move their head like older children/adults would do so they quit breathing or take in too much carbon dioxide.

just hang on and you'll make it through. i'm sure you still love him even if you don't like your current situation. just remember that. :o) good luck!

I was in a nearly exact situation when my 2nd daughter was born - and my oldest was just 17 mths. We had the reflux medicine, the sleeping wedge (similar to the Tucker Sling), thickened formula. One thing that I did that seemed to help was wear my daughter in one of the carriers/slings you wear on your body. It seems like she went through the worst between 2 & 4 mths and it subsided around 5 mths. It seemed like an eternity at the time. I felt the exact same way about wanting to enjoy that time but was very overwhelmed and feeling guilty because it was taking so much of my time away from my oldest daughter. For what it's worth, it will get better. One thing I was able to do and am very thankful for was being able to take my oldest to "school" 3 days a week which gave me time to adjust and feel a little less overwhelmed. I also used a Similac formula that was formulated to be thicker and used Dr. Brown bottles - that was helpful as well. Good luck!

I've never dealt with reflux, but if he wants to be held all day, invest in a good wrap. The Moby Wrap is very easy to use, and will put his little tummy up next to your warm body. He'll feel enveloped by the wrap and it will give your arms a break. I used a Moby when my babies were little (I used a sling with my daughter and loved it, but I prefered the Moby for my son). I now use a Mei Tai carrier, and he's 23 lbs. It's a very comfortable way for both of you.

It's not going to help you with the heavy cleaning, but I can still pick up my 2 year old daughter while wearing my baby. I can still do lots of things with my 4 year old as I hold the baby.

I think this will pass within a few months, so in the long run you're not going to hurt anything by holding him if he needs to be held. A wrap/sling/Mei tai will help you tremendously. The house work can wait.

Every child is different, but my son had acid reflux as a newborn and outgrew it by about 9 months. I used a sling for a long time (the brand we liked best was Sling-Ezee), which made carrying him so much easier. Now that he is 6 1/2 years old, I also appreciate all that time we spent snuggled close together, since I can barely get in a kiss now and then! I'm sure you'll sort it all out. Good luck!

Hi Leanny,

I could have written your post 6 years ago! You are in a very difficult stage in life! But it is only a stage, I promise. I don't know if this is much comfort to you, but your son will grow out of it in about a year. I think some moms told me that too, and while it was slightly comforting to know that things will improve, I wanted help NOW! Really, in my case, time and Prilosec helped. I tried everything: altering my diet to help with milk allergens, Nutraminagen (sp), thickening, etc. I am not advocating this for you because the risk of SIDS, but my little man was so miserable sleeping on his back. He would scream and scream and I would cry right with him. I tried elevation but he would end up kind of scrunching down to the foot of the mattress. When he was put on his tummy, he'd sleep comfortably. We learned that because he would sleep tummy to tummy with my husband sleeping in a recliner. He spent several nights sleeping like that. Then one day out of total and absolute desperation, I put him on his tummy for a nap and, Zonk, out like a light. That day, I cried tears of relief that he was in less pain, but then I had a new crop of fears to deal with...SIDS. So we bought a mattress alarms that sounded when there was no movement on the mattress for a preset amount of time. (Again, I'm not recommending this, I'm just sharing my experience.) Ugh...the decisions we parents have to make! He wanted to be carried all the time because he felt comforted by me. And it was mostly me that he wanted...not family members and that caused quite a stir. My biggest help was a Bjorn sling (if I'm recalling the name correctly). There are probably better slings out there now. But I "wore" my son for most of his first year! :-) I now look back fondly on that sling wearing year which absolutely AMAZES me because it was soooooo hard!!! Girlfriend, do what you can for yourself when those opportune moments arise: bubble baths, soothing music, read a book, pray, take a walk, join an on-line support group, etc. Whatever gives you strength to persevere. I'm afraid that is really ultimately all that helps, time and persevering.

Hang in there. It will get better!

K.

We went through the exact thing with our son. We did everything you are doing. The one thing that helped us the most was the video, "the happiest baby on the block". It was the only way to get him to go to sleep. (We did eventually use a vaccuum cleaner. You will understand once you watch the video). Unfortunately, it only works until they are 3 mos old. After that, we had a Baby Bjorn and he could face outward. I think it would hold his tummy tight to help ease his pain. We would walk with him everywhere and it would allow me to get things done. He would eventually fall asleep and I could take him out and lie him down for a nap.
My son cried around the clock for 5.5 months. After that, he would cry like a "normal" cholicky baby from 5pm to 7pm every night until he was 7.5 months.
It took a huge toll on me. The cring becomes overwhelming and you do not want your baby to be in pain. I had so much anxiety that I lost 30 lbs. I was finally put on an antidepressant and it helped me to stop losing weight and control my anxiety.
My son is now 2 and a wonderful toddler. Just know that they do get over it and enjoy all of his milestones. I remember how wonderful his first smile was and when he laughed out loud for the first time. As you know, motherhood is the BEST thing ever.
P.S. I did see a product in the OneStep magazine lately that I would have tried. It looks like a cloth diaper with velcro that you wrap around their tummy. If I ever have another baby with the same issues, I would try that product. GOOD LUCK!