Reflux, Cereal, Constipation, Sleep and Twins...warning: a Little Long!

M.,
I'm so sorry you and the boys are going through this. My second daughter had reflux from birth to 9 months. She is 10 months now and I am STILL catching up on laundry. She also got very constipated on the rice cereal so we switched to oatmeal. Prune juice can cause stomach cramps so I wouldn't use it anymore. Try oatmeal without the prune juice. It helped a little, but unfortunately nothing worked or seemed to alleviate my daughter's discomfort. Medication did not work either. We ended up going to a specialist who explained that there are two kinds of reflux in babies. Physiological (which is what my daughter had) where the baby is uncomfortable and throws up, however is otherwise happy and meeting their milestones, etc. Medication does not help with physiological reflux and it's more of a laundry problem and discomfort with no longterm health issues or acid damage. Babies with physiological reflux usually outgrow it by 9 months (although some can have it until 18months). The other is Pathological reflux where the baby is constantly in pain and is never happy, never smiles or laughs, and is not meeting their milestones. Medication does help in this case, however the bad news is that it is not always outgrown and can be a problem for many years and some require surgery.

My daughter slept through the night starting at 8 weeks. Then around 4 months she started waking at night and sometimes needing a bottle. They go through growth spurts so the trick is to feed them more during the day (add an extra feeding somewhere) or talk to their doctor about starting them on food - it really helped with us because solids were easier for her to keep down than liquid. I think it also felt good on her throat because the food was more soothing and cold. We started with oatmeal then baby food. Just be sure it's nothing that would contribute to acid. To this day, we still put the oatmeal in her bottle because that's what she's used to.

Also, I do believe the reflux contributed to the restless nights. She did start sleeping through the night again and goes to sleep all on her own for naps and nighttime. It's wonderful. It's just a phase they go through. It's good that the pacifier helps them go back to sleep. I don't believe in letting them cry for more than 5 minutes. If they're not going back to sleep, then it is because they need something or are uncomfortable. Your instinct will tell you. Hang in there. I know what it's like being sleep deprived. My first daughter didn't sleep through the night until she was 2 years old!

My guess is that your boys also have physiological reflux so it's just a matter of time. They will get better. They grow so fast. Sorry this reply got so long. I'm just trying to share everything I learned because it was such an upsetting experience for us --- especially not understanding it. So I'm hoping to provide you some insight and hope. Please let me know if you want to talk more. One tip- stock up on aprons and wear them so you won't have to change your clothes as much. I was changing her and me several upon several times a day. I'm assuming the boys throw up all day like my daughter did.

I just wanted to follow up with another piece of advice and another piece of info. We would also many times put my daughter to sleep in her infant carrier (car seat) in her bedroom (or even in the crib). That way she was really propped up and more comfortable and she slept so much better. At the same time she was in her room/crib so it was familiar. Once she was able to roll over, she ALWAYS (and to this day) sleeps on her stomach. An adult friend of ours with reflux said it's VERY uncomfortable flat on your back. So until you are ok with them sleeping on their stomachs, I would use the car seats for sleeping. More info: When I asked the GI specialist about allergies, she did not think that was the case. For one, it didn't matter what type of formula we tried (soy, enfamil, gentlease, nutramigin, etc.) The specialist explained that the muscles that usually close the valve between the stomach and throat were underdeveloped and that is why the food is coming back up. She said the reason babies outgrow it at around 9 months is because that's when the muscles usually mature. Again, this is in the case of physiological reflux. I'll send positive thoughts your way. It will get better. K.

1 mom found this helpful

hi, I'm the mother of twin girls who are 10 months old now. They had reflux and were placed on prevacid and Zantac. The gastroenterilogist we saw never asked what bottle they were using. I wasn't happy about the mess, especially since it only made a small difference. I decided to stop using the dr browns bottles and try the playtex disposables (drop-INS). I'm not exagerating when I say that they improved almost 100%. They continued to spit up,however, they no longer screamed in pain during burps. Please try this!!! Good luck.

E.

Ask your Doctor about a laxative for the kids. It's safe adnd my daughter has taken it for years. Go out and buy the book "Baby Wise".

Hello, My son had really bad reflux (I mean REALLY bad) and I learned that reflux deals with 2 issues: one is the food (you have mentioned some switches you've made) and the other is the irritation it causes. The acid fluids in the stomach make their way up and cause a heart-burning sensation that might be complicating the situation. Ask your doctor if he/she can give you something to calm that nasty feeling, extremely uncomfortable for a child (and an adult!!!). Also, you might want to check these very useful websites:

http://www.refluxinchildren.com
http://parent-2-parent.com/forum/index.php

I really encourage you to seek chiropractic care for the reflux. I have found that especially babies react well to this and can even get off medication. Also, trust your baby and your instincts as far as feeding.
good luck,
N.

Our son had the same problems (he used to vomit 6-8 times a day too) so we gave him Enfamil AR. It helped but he still screamed after meals. In the end we went to a wonderful pediatric gastro and he put our son on Prevacid. We aren't big fans of medicating children but it's made a HUGE difference. After 2 weeks on the medicine, he stopped vomiting, didn't scream after meals and sleep in longer stretches. The dr told us reflux babies don't sleep well because their digestive tract is always churning. Hope that helps.

I feel for you. The hardest thing in the world is watching your children suffer. Acid reflux can be cured quite quickly with Apple cider vinegar ( Bragg's brand). When there is not enough acid in the system to help break down food, reflux happens. If you are giving your children antiacids, you are making the problem way worse. Dilute apple cider vinegar and water, squirt directly to the back of the throat, your baby will hate it and probably gag. Feed them once they recover from the vinegar shock. They shouldn't have any reflux, because you gave them the necessary acid to digest the food. An acid surge happens, when there is VERY LITTLE acid in the system. You will need to figure out your childs vinegar dosage. Try a quarter teaspoon mixed with water to start. The vinegar must be unfiltered and unpasturized for proper enzymes. This usually works like a charm. If it doesn't , then that's a good indication of a different problem. Best of luck.

my 5 mo. old has reflux as well. we tried zantac, which didn't work and switched to prevacid. Prevacid works well for her. She also loves the strawberry flavor. She practically begs for more after we give it to her. She also sleeps on an incline to this day. The only way we were ever able to have her take naps was on us before we put her on prevacid. Now she takes naps beautifully and sleeps 10 hours since she was 3 mos old. we never used rice cereal because of that reason. we use "wellements" gripe water from whole foods. It takes away her hiccups almost immediately. We give it to her if she has a curdled spit up awhile after a feeding, it seems to help with the sour taste. We used to give it to her after a feeding and right before bed it also seemed to help with her spit ups not hurting.She now seems to not need it as much. It has sodium bicarb in it which neutralizes the acid in the reflux. Gripe water also helps with gas, which seemed to bother her.
some tips are
-to have her upright 30 min. after a feeding.
- make sure diapers aren't too snug.
-try not to put in carseat until 30 min. after a feeding, the position of the carseat makes them reflux more.
If you google infants and reflux there is a whole website on natural ways to reduce reflux. Our pediatrician also recomended maalox to soothe the pain from the acid, but she didn't like the gritty texture plus the only kind that is safe for infants per a pharmacist I spoke to is the original and I have only been able to find it in mint flavor which she also didn't care for. Hope this helps. Ofcourse talk to your pediatrician, but the wellements gripe water saved us.

Hello M.,
I am so sorry that you are going through this. I totally know how you feel. My son has acid reflux due to Pyloric Stenosis Surgery at 3 weeks old.
My Dr was fantastic with helping us. She put him on Nutramigen by Enfamil. I will tell you that it is expensive, but you may be able to get your insurance to pay for it. Also, are they eating solids at all?? She put him on oatmeal instead of rice and told me not to give him any carrots, apples, banannas or rice in his food. All those things that usually are great for us, for some reason are binding for babies. Also, lots of water, and try more prunes. I used to dilute prune juice.
I hope this helps.

My daughter also had reflux and she has almost grown out of it now at 16 months. I recommend the book "Colic Solved". Look it up on Amazon. It is all about reflux. I also recommend sleeping the babies elevated on a wedge or in a swing, or bouncy/carseat in the crib. My daughter was waking up all of the time when we were putting her down to sleep flat, when we elevated her at night she slept MUCH longer. We also switched her medication from Zantac to Prevacid and she was for the first time able to sleep flat at 6.5 months. I reccommend finding a good GI doctor who can put your babies on the correct medicine, because this will also help them sleep. I hope this helps. Oh, another good website is www.reflux.org

Diagnosed with reflux? Have you tried any natural remedies or second opinions? 2 1/2 month old on meds? What are the side effects of Prilosec? Good luck......

Hi M. -

My twin boys had reflux also ... you have tried all the crib proping, sitting up/angled up while nursing/bottle, and keeping them upright for 20-30 minutes after? My boys were on prescription baby zantac until they were 13 months old ... it worked great for them and we were lucky their reflux wasn't more serious. My boys also have sleep issues - one is still having problems and the other just started sleeping through the night (well, until somewhere between 4 and 6:30 am, but what an improvement!) The one with the tough sleep issues used to wake 10-12 times a night. We are down to 2 times a night on a good night and I co-sleep with him. If you want to try to postpone CIO I would recommend the book No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. Great ideas ... and not nearly as painful as CIO - but it does take some time. I wish I had read the book when the boys where your boys' age instead of waiting until they were 9 months old!

Good luck! Oh - and the rice cereal has nothing to do with helping reflux or better sleep - old wives tale! In fact with the reflux my personal opinion is you are better off with breast milk - it soothes the esophogus and upper stomach (my boys wanted to nurse like crazy when their reflux was bad because it made them feel better).

P.

Try enfamil formula, either gentlease or they have one now for reflux. It makes a big difference. Also, with each feeding for the constipation add 1 tbsp of kayro syrup to the bottle. you should see a difference soon. maybe all that will help them to sleep too. good luck.

First let me say that you will survive! Our son (now 13 mo) suffered from an ever escalating case of reflux diagnosed at about 2 mo. He was put on first one and then two medications (axid and prevacid 2x day.) He stopped sleeping except for short bits of an hour or two; a typical nap would be 20-30 min. We were on constant alert to replace the pacifier to get a little extra sleep from him. He was constantly whining and had episodes of screaming. He seemed to be in pain we could not resolve. What ended up being our answer was food allergies. Although it was the last thing the doctors looked for, it was the easiest test. Very common irritants are: dairy, wheat, soy, eggs.
After eliminating all his know irritants the reflux was gone, and the sleeping issues slowly resolved. Good luck, and you will make it!

I feel for you, it's really hard to be sleep deprived and worried about your kids. As much as you need sleep right now, I'd get the health situation cleared up before doing any "crying it out". If they are able to put pacifiers in their own mouths at this point then i'd suggest buying a BUNCH of them and putting them all around the crib so there's always one in reach. I don't know what your situation is, but if you're too exhausted, perhaps you could convince a friend, relative or babysitter to come over and help for a night or two so you can get some consecutive hours of sleep. Sometimes we think we're supposed to suck it up and do it alone, but it's totally okay to ask for help and that goes triple for parents of twins. Good luck. A.

Hi M.:

Reflux is typically an allergic reaction. My suggestion to you is that you visit NAET.com, order and read the book "Say Good-Bye to Children's Allergies" and make an appointment to consult with an NAET certified doctor at your first opportunity. I (and 2 of my grandchildren) go to Dr. David Karaba in Fullerton and absolutely love him. His phone number is ###-###-####. One of the wonderful things about NAET is that for babies or the infirm, they can be treated through a surrogate, i.e., you. Here is the description paragraph from the book information.

"Say Good-bye to Children’s Allergies
By - Devi S. Nambudripad, M.D., D.C., L.Ac., R.N., Ph.D.

In Say Good-bye to Children’s Allergies, Dr. Devi S. Nambudripad, the developer of NAET®, will help you understand your child’s illness and will assist you in finding the right help to achieve better health for your child. This book will show you how certain commonly used products in your foods and environment can cause health problems in your child; how you can test your child in your privacy of your own home using the Nambudripad’s Testing Techniques described in the book. This book will educate you how your child’s health problems can relate to allergy, a traditionally under-diagnosed or misdiagnosed condition; and, how allergies can manifest into myriad symptoms that might seem unrelated. The author also provides remedies for mild conditions of common childhood ailments arising from allergies and how to find help in assisting your child find the right help for serious problems such as, asthma, hay-fever, common colds, sinus problems, milk allergy, peanut allergy, sugar allergy, hives, gastritis, vomiting, colic for newborns, ear infections, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, bronchitis, drug reactions, and many other conditions. Dr. Nambudripad explains how allergies are often the underlying causes to pediatric problems and how NAET® testing procedures and NAET® treatments can offer relief from these allergies. The book is supported by NAET® practitioners’ testimonials and patients’ success stories."

Dear M.,
My heart goes out to you. My husband and I literally felt like we all went through a kind of hell when our baby was born with a stomach valve issue which resulted in reflux/waking/all day colic. My number one suggestion is: GET HELP. There are things you can do to minimize the reflux pain (and it sounds like you are doing many of them), but essentially they need to outgrow the reflux. Time is a huge factor (ours took 9+ (!!) months significantly improve) and you need a solution right now. So get someone you love and trust to put out the word and come up with some teams of baby-rocking volunteers, so you can get stretches of sleep to help you cope. Secondly, I suspect that their waking may be the addition of another problem on top of the reflux- the beginnings of them teething. We found that the Hyland's homeopathic teething tablets are good and calming from the stress of that constant pain. It has no side effects, so it couldn't hurt to try. I feel so much for you going through this- with TWO! Hang in there. Feel free to write me If I can offer any other insight about reflux, etc. I will be sending good thoughts your way.
S.

Hi there-I have lived the reflux problem with both of my boys (age 3 and 8 month old). We were referred to a GI doctor who seemed to know more about reflux issues than just their regular pediatrician. The doctor started prevacid and reglan. The baby didn't do well with reglan so he is now on Erythomyicin. Anyway we had the constipation issues when we added rice cereal into his diet. Then he would reflux because he was bearing down so hard to have a bowel movement. We were finally given a prescription for miralax and wow has that made a difference. Prunes didn't help that much before. He no longer wakes up at night with gas problems and seems to be a much happier baby these days. Ask your doctor about Miralax. Hope this helps.

Dear M.,

Good for the prunes, but give a little bit mushed up, you can get the dried ones and cook one just for him. Don't give too much, just little bits along with water throughout the day. I know that he won't gulp it down , but just a little bit along will help. If you buy the dried prunes and cook them yourself you may be getting more of the real prune goodness into him that way and be more successful with the pooping.

The reflux might be waking them up, I know that it isn't fun to try to sleep with that happening. give him a tiny bit of the prilosec in the night if it is o.k. I have to get up and take it myself.

C. N.

M.,
Are they bottle fed? If so, that's probably why the cereal is causing constipation - the iron, coupled with formula can constipate. Keep up with the prunes. If they are breast fed, I would stop the cereal. Breast milk is all babies need for the first year. If you want to start them on food I would recommend waiting until at least 6 months old and start with veggies before grains. Grains are still harder on their immature dig. systems than vegetables and fruits.
Please don't let them cry it out. They are waking for a reason and it's probably reflux. It sounds like you're doing the right thing with the incline and you've chosen a medication to help too. It may just take time for their GI systems to mature and get passed this stage. You can go a lot longer without sleep than you think. Trust me. My baby is almost 7 months old and last night was the first night that he only woke 1 time!! Usually he wakes 4-5 times and he doesn't have reflux. Hang in there. I would stop the solids until 6 months, then start with veggies and keep them on an incline. Try carrying them more during the day in an upright sling -like a MayaWrap or Over the Shoulder Baby Holder - facing forward, upright and crossed legged. Take turns with them. Being close to mom during the day may settle them more for being apart from you at night. If you work, have a caregiver carry them in slings too.
Good Luck! You will eventually get sleep.
D.

Hang in there!
I'm surprised your pediatrician has you feeding them solids at such a young age- check out Child of Mine, Feeding with Love and Good Sense by Ellyn Satter. As for sleep, can you afford to get a nighttime nanny 2 or 3 days a week? My friends had twin boys with reflux and this saved their sanity.
Whatever happens, try to remember that this is a relatively short time in your son's lives, and in yours, and it does get better!

First, get their bodies balanced .....They need Minerals for all their bodily functions....
My 2month was constipated, then I added the extreme x2o to his formula and he has been fine ever since...There are only 11 or 12 minerals in formula and mostb people are lacking from their diet, so be sure to add the x20..If you need help, e-mail me directly, or go to www.xooma.ca
This should help correct the system and get them back on ____@____.com

HI M.,

My son has reflux too and we are trying Probiotics. It's been working so far. Ask your ped if they recommend it but we've been trying it for a couple of weeks and he seem to be spitting up less and sleeping better.

Good luck!

Grains are absolutely the worse food to feed young babies (with the exception of soy). Please research at www.westonaprice.org to find the perfect food for babies and why grains are so dangerous for babies. Feeding grains to babies may set up a lifetime of food allergies and possible infections. Poi and young coconut meat and coconut milk, organic fruit and veggies, goat milk yogurt and kefir, squash, sweet potato, and cod liver oil are some of the best foods. A good baby probiotic may clear up the reflux as long as common food allergens are not being introduced.

My son had this. Real bad!! We did the rice cereal thing too, but the best advise i got from my Dr was to make sure he was upright all the time. My sons case was bad...He was to be upright 100% of the day. He slept in his car seat in the crib and slept in the swing and the bouncy. We even fed him upright. We had to do this for 4.5 months. It was kind of sad but it worked. He didn't know any different. He was happy to not be sick. As far as sleep, their tummies hurt. They want to be comforted. Does your husband help? Try to keep them up a lot during the day so they can get use to day and night. A schedule is most important.

My son also had reflux. I breastfed exclusively till age 11 months and then started adding a little solids gradually. I breastfeed so his head was more upright and that helped the reflux problems for the most part. He would also sleep bit propped up. For constipation read up on homeopathic remedies...there are some great ones and my son's problem with that was completely eased but I had to read and find the right remedy. The sleep habits have probably been effected because if they are eating solids already, they get hungry more often and their digestive system is not equipped to truly digest solids, no matter what your doctor says. Reflux might feel alarming to them. There is a liquid homeopathic remedy for infants in a pink box called Calming or Calm...something like that. It comes in individual viles that are sinle dose vials and safe. Good luck...

My 3 month old twins also have terrible reflux. We also have them sleep on an incline, put 1 tsp rice cereal per ounce of formula in their bottles, put them on prevacid (which worked wonders). As far as the constipation, my daughter had that really bad. We also started playing around with different cereals.If you are in San Diego Email me and we can ____@____.com

Hi M.,

My twins (now almost 1 year old) also had terrible reflux. We had them sleep on an incline, put 1 tsp rice cereal per ounce of formula in their bottles, put them on prevacid (which worked wonders). As far as the constipation, my daughter had that really bad. We started to play around with the cereal in her bottles. I started doing 1/2 rice and 1/2 oatmeal and now I just have oatmeal in the bottle. She has been seeing Dr Katz for her reflux (who is a wonderful GI doctor that specializes in preemies). We also started her on olive oil (1.5 ml 3-4 times a day). This was to help her gain weight but another benefit is that it really helped with the constipation.

Hang in there. I know how frustrating it is to see your babies in pain and not keeping their food down. It does get better. It's just a matter of figuring out what works. Best of Luck.

Hi M.
I feel for you!
My baby was born with Reflux and Its quite painful . How abut Reglan Metoclopramide 5mg i wonder if this is the same thing. Also dont put the babies down as soon as you finish feeding them, try to keep them upright for an extra 45 min. Hang in there my friend! It does get better!!! I finally got my child of the meds. She is doing fine pain free and she is able to keep the food down. But the sleeping patterns stay my child wakes up every day at 2:00am for feeding, but at least she is no longer in pain.
Good luck to you!

M.,

Our son (now 6 months) was diagnosed with reflux at 2 months, by the third Dr we asked. He recommended giving 1/2 tsp of Maalox (any flavor EXCEPT mint). He was not too crazy about drinking this, but it helped him to go back to sleep almost immediately. The other option was Gripe water - similar results just required a larger dose...but tastes just as bad. Both of these help with reflux, gas and excess acid in stomach. Hope this helps.

J.

I can offer some advice for the reflux. My daughter was born 6 weeks early and had terrible reflux. Nothing seemed to work including the meds. I slept with her on my chest, on the couch, for about a month because it was the only way either one of us got any rest. If I dared to lay her down to sleep on her back milk would come pouring out her mouth and nose within minutes. Anyways, getting to my point. I experimented one day and put her down on her belly to sleep. I have not had a problem since. I even stopped giving her the meds. Alot of people are against belly sleeping but I am comfortable with her head/neck strength and feel it is safe. By the way, my daughter is 5 months. Good luck!

My son had terrible gas and constipation as an infant. He would scream and wake multiple times in the night. The pediatrician told me not to worry, he most likely had a little colic...but I just KNEW it had to be something more as this was not my first baby.
At first I thought it was the cereal, but through trial and error we discovered he had a milk intolerance/allergy. When we switched to a formula that was not only lactose free but also casien free, all of the discomfort stopped. He is now 8 years old and is still unable to tolerate dairy. He drinks rice milk instead. I believe the formula we switched to was called nutriganimin (SP?) made by enfamil..I was also nursing so I had to cut out my dairy consumption and take calcium supplements

You are right not to let them cry it out--they are not comfortable, in some pain, and leaving them to cryis a really really bad idea. Don't let anyone talk you into that. My son had really bad reflux until he was two. I ended up having him sleep with me so I could survive, and that definitely helped me. The incline and the prilosec are good. There are also some other meds--we tried zegerid and that worked better than the prilosec or prevacid for us. Type in GERD in your browser for a list of web sites. As they grow the dosage needs adjusting an sometimes your regular doctor may not know about that. If you're nursing, you may consider altering your diet. My son was allergic to milk and sensitive to MSG, and if I had either of those, it made his reflux worse. Don't know if any of that will help, but please let me know if you have any other questions. Good luck! E.

Ok, well it seems that you have received a lot of info already. I just wanted to ditto the comment from Jackie K. Trying a different reflux med from a peds GI like prevacid or Reglan may help. Also many parents that I work with tell me Miralax is a miracle for constipation. The peds GI in Long Beach Dr. Mathis swears by it. Feel free to email me for more info. G.