Signs of Acid Reflux?????

My daughter had acid reflux at 4 months old. I noticed that she would vomit after every feeding. She was born 16 weeks early and was on Enfamil Lipil, which has more calories, to increase her weight. At first, I thought it was the formula, but when I mentioned it to one of her doctors, they set up some GI tests. The found that she did have acid reflux and prescribed her medicine for it. If your son vomits after every meal, that may be a sign of acid reflux. Ask your pediatrician, there is no harm in inquiring. I hope this helps!

My son also had signs of acid reflux at a very young age. He spit up ALOT after every feeding and cried way too much. He was never content. Well, what worked for us was soy formula (cheaper than nutramigin) and prilosec. We also added extra rice cereal to each bottle to weigh it down a little. All of this was the advice of the doctor. Talk to your doctor about the possibility of it being a milk protein allergy. If it is actually an allergy to milk protein, the nutramigin formula could be covered by your insurance company. We went through this with my youngest son. Good luck.

Hi C.,
My 9 month old has reflux. Not only was he spitting up, but he would occasionally projectile vomit. It's such a terrible thing to watch... so much throw up coming from this tiny body. I recently read that ALL babies have reflux for the first 3 months and that many doctors are medicating babies that don't need it. When our baby started to puke more often, we brought him to the doctor and the nurse practitioner just blew us off. She told us that if he was throwing up after every feeding, or if the projectile vomit could hit the wall across the room, then she would be concerned. The following week our son saw the PA, who took us more seriously. She immediately sent him for an abdominal ultrasound to check for pyloric stenosis (testing positive would require immediate surgery). She also put him on Axid, which he still take 3 times a day (since he was 2 mos old). Amy is right, the doctors are more concerned if the baby isn't gaining weight, which wasn't a problem for us. I am still breastfeeding, but I have heard from other moms that the nutramigen is the best, but very expensive. Find out if your insurance will cover the cost. Some insurance companies will, but they don't want to advertise that.
Here's my advice: No one knows your baby like you do - trust your instincts. As far as excessive spit up, stock up on bibs and burp cloths. Expect to do lots of laundry. After my son threw up on the couch several times, we decided that I would always feed him in the same seat, "the spit up seat," which I kept covered with a sheet. Much easier to throw the sheet in the washing machine then to clean the couch!
It's been 9 months, and I still get stressed out dealing with this reflux. Most babies grow out of it by 6 months. Not our son. Now it's a little harder because he eats solid food and it isn't pretty when that comes back up.
If your son does have reflux, there are several different medications out there. You can google it - you wouldn't believe how many other people are dealing with this. Personally, I'd rather not medicate my baby unless it is really necessary. The axid that he is on doesn't actually stop him from spitting up. It lessens the amount of stomach acid that his body produces, so that when he does spit up, it isn't burning his esophagus.
Some of the signs that we noticed with reflux: he was sometimes fussy during feedings, or even after feedings when he should have been full and satisfied. He would arch his back from the burning feeling of the stomach acid. Obviously, the excessive amounts of spit up and throw up.
Try to keep your son upright for 30 minutes after he eats. This is hard to do if he falls aleep eating. We used to let our baby nap in his bouncy seat because he wasn't laying flat.
I really feel that my son's reflux is one of the reasons that I have had a hard time adjusting to being a mom. I would get so upset when he threw up, even though he usually looked relieved after it. I would call up my mom crying and ask her to come help me (and I DO NOT ask for help!) Things have gotten better, but it was tough for a while. I know how stressful it can be, especially with your first child. If you ever feel overwhelmed, feel free to contact me. I hope some of this helps you - sorry, I tend to ramble once I start talking about this! Best of luck and Congratulations!

PS - If it gets to be too much, ask someone to watch the baby for a bit, and do something for yourself. You will feel better, and it will make you a better mom!

Don't worry about it. My Ped. said all babies have that, because their digestive tract is short and not fully developed yet. Just remember to hold your son up with his head elevated for 1 or more hours after feeding him.

I feel your pain. My 5 month old didn't get diagnosed until she was 3 months, but we had done some things before that stalled the need for meds.

The first things doctors will tell you to try is adding 1/2 tsp of rice cereal to his bottle and 1/2 tsp of Maalox or Mylanta. If you see that he has some relief from that, it is most likely AR. Do you have a sleeping wedge in his bed? It doesn't cure things, but it does help some.

Burping becomes instrumental in helping them feel better. I still stop every 2 oz to burp. There are times when we have to put our daughter on her stomach on our knees and wiggle her hips and pat her back for a bit and then when we lift her up, she will release a burp. Other times, we distract her with a small toy to hold (rattle, keys) so that she relaxes enough to let go of the burp. Do not lay your son down right after he eats (I know such a pain for night feedings), instead you have to keep him upright for a bit and make sure all burps are out. We have found that that our daughter can have a sneaky one that comes 15 min or so after she eats after we thought we had gotten all burps out.

Things we noticed with our daughter was that she was crying and fussing through feedings and then she stop sleeping (first naps and then at night). She would wake screaming and we couldn't figure out why. She also was eating too much (I think to try to sooth her GI track) and very quickly. She was spitting up much more after and during meals. Is your son turning his head from side to side a lot when trying to sleep or during meals? Arching his back? That's what we were seeing and didn't immediately think of AR. We thoght she just had gas/a lactose issue. Your changing of formula is smart. If the Enfamil version doesn't work, try the Similac one. We preferred Nutrimigen, but we tried Alimentum first (it had come very recommended). It seems to depend on your child's preference/needs. I think the allergenic formulas just allow yor child to do less work so they produce less acid.

Try to keep a record of what your seeing in behavior, eating, and sleeping patterns so that it is easier to explain to your doctor. Most seem to expect to hear this at some point. I have been told that it appears to be a result of back to sleep (they move less so gas builds more) and waiting to start solids. I also personally believe that the early immunizations are also contributing to irritating their GI tracts.

Hope that helps and good luck!

Hello,
my name is B. from Vermont, my cildren are now 7 and 5. They both had reflux as infants. As they were eating and always after they ate they would plit up or projectile up all there formula. This went on for quite a long time for us. Both of my children were on 5-7 formulas each then both ended up on the soy. Good luck and let me know if I could help with anything else. Congratulations on your little one!

I have a 5 month old who is a "silent refluxer." We found out he has a significant reflux only because he had to have an endoscopy for a problem that doesn't really matter to this discussion - but the ENT doing the test actually found some burns and irritation to his esophagus. My boy fusses and arches only a little during feeding and not every time so it wasn't anything you'd even really note, and he NEVER EVER EVER spits up. In his 5 months of life he's spit up 3 times that I can remember. My point is - to all moms reading this - it's incredibly important to treat. Left untreated it can cause vocal cord damage, speech delays, recurrent ear infections, and damage to the esophagus. Our little boy is on Zantac now and will remain on it until he's a year old because that's when babies typically outgrow this... since he has no outright symptoms it'll be hard to tell when it resolves which is why we're just going with the norm. Zantac doesn't stop him from refluxing, but by cutting the acid that he refluxes it minimizes the damage it does. GOOD LUCK to you and your boy - and good for you for watching out for this so early. You're preventing a lot of problems by watching out!

My daughter had reflux as well. She didn't have the vomiting, but would cry all of the time, did not sleep (20 minute naps), was extremely gassy (I could feel it going through her intestines) and would sometimes arch her back after feedings. We had her on Nutramigen and eventually Prilosec (which really made the biggest difference). Some suggestions...burp more often during feedings, hold him upright for a while after feeding him. If he is crying a lot, we found that the sound of the dryer seemed to calm our daughter.

Our pediatrician diagnosed our daughter and put her on Xantax, but it did not work. I requested to see a gastroenterologist and that was when she was put on Prilosec. We were able to wean her off the medicine when she was about 10 months. Hang in there..it will get better.

I know it can be frustrating! I know acid reflux can be over diagnosed-our baby definitly has it and these were the symptoms... He would pull off after a few minutes of breastfeeding- arch his back and scream these bloody curdling screams the top of his lungs and it was a huge battle to get him to go back. He is was not an unhappy infant at all besides when this happened. Also he would make gulping sounds which was him swallowing the milk that was coming back up. He actually did not spit up that much but he did the swallow thing instead. We did pepcid and it helped eventually, but it took a few weeks for him to heal first. he's 7 months and almost all better now and i'm weaning him off. I tried slowing down the pepcid before and it would always be a problem. Food also helped-we started at 5 months and also when they sit up more it helps. When he ws really little before we did medicine- we tried sleep positioners, putting his mattress on and incline, keeping him upright as possible while eating and after and sleeping in the car seat or the bouncy chair. All these things helped a little.

One sign I didn't see listed in the responses was back arching. My LO would arch his back so badly and then he would projectile vomit. He didn't have true reflux, but he had reflux as a sympotom of a milk allergy. Keep food allergies in mind if after switching formulas and getting on meds and things don't clear up. Also, we found that each med stopped working for himafter about 6 months.

Jenn

Acid reflux is really common in babies, and is probably due to immaturity of the lower esophageal sphincter, or the connection between the esophagus and the stomach (which lets food in but should keep food from going back up). Some babies have reflux and don't seem to be bothered by it -- the only problem is a lot of dirty laundry! But some babies are really distressed by it and a few even have trouble gaining weight because they feed less. In these cases, your pediatrician may want to treat the baby with medication -- generally these days babies are treated with medication (Zantac is a common choice) to reduce acid production in the stomach. This doesn't really stop the spit up but can stop the pain of reflux, and thus reduce the baby's distress. One month is a common age for reflux to really show up, and it usually peaks at about 4 months. My 7 month old breast fed son had reflux, which we chose to treat with medication starting at 1 month because he would cry in pain and arch backwards and genuinely seemed uncomfortable after each feeding, and he was spitting up a lot, and he was having trouble falling and staying asleep because of it (he would wake and cry when he spit up). I am not a big fan of giving babies medication in general but it absolutely helped my son. Changing to a different formula like Nutramigen may help because it may be digested more easily, but I am not sure it helps that often. (Nutramigen has proteins broken down into component parts [amino acids]-- but proteins are digested after they have already left the stomach and are in the intestines, and I am not sure that this helps the stomach empty any faster) I would talk to your pediatrician about it. I hope this helps.

Hi, my daughter had acid reflux and she thankfully grew out of it. She would spit up really forcefully. Like it it would shoot out. Also, the screaming and discomfort right in the middle of a feed. She'd pop off of me or the bottle and open for it, but as soon as she'd get it she start crying really hard. She also had trouble gaining weight. These are all signs of reflux.

What we did...
1) put in a crib wedge. the elevation uses gravity to help keep it down.
2) nurse or feed in smaller amounts, stop and burb, then more. nice and slow
3) keep her upright for at least 15 minutes after a feed. Gave her body a chance to keep the food down.
4) don't pat burp, it can force the liquid up. Rather, using firm upward strokes will burp him just the same as pat burping
5) we tried all the different formulas. None of them made any difference.
6) Finally put her on reflux medicine. We tried Axid, the new stuff, but it didn't seem to do anything. So, we tried Zantac. Doc said there was absolutely no difference, but that seemed to work for her. It did take a good 2 weeks for it to make a difference. It takes that long for he esophagus to heal.
Hope that helps!

Hi C.-My name is L. and both of my kids had acid reflux. My daughter is 7 months now and the reflux is pretty much resolved. The signs that were very apparent to me were the constant spitting up of formula, which usually happened anywhere from 30minutes to one hour after feeding. Also both my children seemed uncomfortable while feeding as if it was burning as the formula went down. My daughter also would projectile vomit a majority of her feedings and she would cry in pain after her feedings, as well as arch her back. My son, now 4, had reflux as well. He spit up constantly. My pediatrician recommended switching to nutramigen and put him on Zantac. My daughter, at one month, was put on nutramigen with cereal mixed in and she took prevacid, she had to see a gastroenterologist because the pediatrician that her reflux was more severe then my son's and he was not comfortable dosing the prevacid since it is fairly new to give to infants. They both slept in a bouncy seat for quite a few months. My kids would not sleep flat due to pain in their esophagus. Once meds were started and the new formula was working they were much better. My son stopped his meds at 9 months and the nutramigen at 10 months and my daughter stopped the meds at 6 months and was switched back to enfamil lipil with cereal added to it at 5 months. She was treated since she was 4 weeks old. My daughter spits up only rarely now. I hope this helps a little.

Both of my girls had reflux... not fun! These are some signs to look for: Does he arch his back a lot? (*this one is key!!) Is he fussy and you can't really calm him? Does he spit up a lot and when he does is is curdy/ chunky? I used to have to take a number of changes of cloths for my first daughter (and myself) she had it so badly. Does he feel better when he is elevated (in his car seat, bouncy, or swing?) We put her on prilosac Rx then Zantac this seemed to help her. I was nursing her and had to completely change my diet.. so you may have to change formulas until you find the right one. Talk to your Dr. and ask about the medications. Good luck :) S. K.

Hi, my son had acid reflux very bad from 1-3 months then it went away. I did not let the doctor put him on any medication until i tryed everything else possible. We changed his formula 4x's before getting the right one and that was enfamil with rice. And believe it or not he slept in his car seat everynight keeping him upright helped him from spitting up so much. The signs were.... Very very cranky, constant spitting up and occasional throwing up. Very gassy all the time he would alway be squirming. It does get better as time goes on so don't worry it seems to be very common. Good luck : ) G.

Spitting up for a baby is normal. How much is normal depends on the child. My niece spewed regularly. I remember one Sunday she drenched the person in the pew behind her. The key is she was growing well so she was getting enough nutrition. Babies on formula do tend to spit up more than breast fed babies. Then there are those babies that are really hard to burp. Some need to be burped multiple times during each feeding. That brings with it the screaming child that may be swollowing more air because of the screaming. That may be helped with a pacifier, but depends on the baby. There is also the food allergy to consider. Is he lactose, or soy intolerant? A change in the formula is the solution to this one. If he is not growing at an acceptable rate or in severe pain and the formula change and extra burping do nothing then your doctor will begin looking for things like celiac disease or mc3 Don't fret about that, most likely it is perfectly normal spitting up that young babies do. As the baby becomes more active and able to sit up whatever amount of spitting up is normal for him will decrease until as an active toddler it will be gone. One gift I give to new moms is specialy made "burp cloths". I hope this helps.

Hi C.,
We went through this with my now 1 year old, he just outgrew it with in the last couple of months. We tried a few different formulas and ended up with Similac's Alimentum. It is very expensive but our Insurance Co paid for it. Our doctor just had to write a prescription.(we only had to pay our co pay). Our son was spitting a lot too,but the biggest sign we received was at night. He would fall asleep in our arms but once we put him in his crib he would start screaming in pain. I hope this helps, I was not aware of the fact that Insurance would pay for formula until another mom told me. Good Luck

Am not sure about this. both my girls were colic and the doc put them on a soy formula. It helprd

My youngest son had terrible reflux as a baby.He was very cranky, would cry after eating and would pull his knees up towards chest afetr eating, I could actually feel the bubbles moving upward towards his throat, always threw up. We switched his formula to Nutramigen and that helped along with Prilosec. Zantac did nothing for him. goo dluck and hang in there. My son outgrew it when he was around 12 months old and started walking.

Hi C.,
Congrats on the baby!! We have a 19 month old who was diagnosed with hopefully just acid reflux when she was about 6 months old, and i say hopefully only because she went to a specialist and alot of it is trial and error so next week we are going for an endoscope, apparently it should stop around 18 months. Anyway I suggest you have your pediatrician refer you to a gastrointestinal doc to get your son checked out, our specialist had said if our pediatrician had referred her sooner she could have been put on a special formula. So best of luck, and keep us posted
L.

My son had acid reflux and was on Zantac from the time he was 3 weeks old. He was extremely gassy and would spit up A LOT. Not like normal baby spit up, more like 1/4 of what he had eaten. Also, he was unable to lie flat for any length of time ( he was OK for diaper changes, etc.), and had to sleep in an infant seat at night for the first 5 - 6 months. Eventually he just outgrew it. He's 27 months old now and will eat anything that's not moving! Talk to your doctor about it. Good luck :)

Hi C.,
I went throught the same thing with my daughter at that age. Our pediatrician reffered us to a gasterenterologist and after some testing, she was put on baby prevacid for GERD. It really helped and she was able to eat and sleep much better. She was a soy baby but my twin sons were on Nutragimen...it's so expensive and never really filled them up, oddly enough after cycling through every formula on the market the Carnation Good Start worked really well for them. It could be the formula, although it's stressful to change them up it might be something to look at if he's having a bad experience, good luck!

Good Luck

it will sound like he's spitting up and swallowing it in his throat. my son had a problem with this from the day he came home from the hospital. i got it taken care of right away because i was afraid he was goin to choke. He will do this constantly if it's reflux. Definetly get it checked out!

My daughter had it for a long time, from 3weeks to the time she was able to sit up. It is very painful for the child, They do a lot of screaming after they eat, usually they spit up a lot. They have a lot of the same signs as a gassy baby
My suggestion is to First talk to the doctor and explain all the signs, and they make a medications that really help. I also had to put a tablespoon of rice in the formula to help keep it down. IT also helps to keep their head elevated, like in the car seat or a bouncy chair.

Hi C.,
My one son (I have twins) has been on Nutramigen since one month he is now 6 months. He was diagnosed with severe acid reflux. Started on Zantac and eventually went to Prevacid and Zantac which worked better. He would arch and scream in pain. He never did the vomitting thing, but he was in so much pain. We would have to walk around with him for hours every night. He is much better now. Nutramigen is very expensive (about $25 for a small can)but he did best on that formula - we tried them all.

Good Luck
J.

Hi C.. My little girl had acid refulx when she was born. She was on a liquid form of zantac and she grew out of it by the time she was a year old. Mainly the signs she had was spitting up quit a bit after we would feed her or during her feedings and during this time she would also experience a bit of crying. The doctor put her on the zantac and she was 100% better - no spitting up during/after her feedings and a much happier little girl. Hope this helps. T.

Hi C. - My name is A. and I am a first time mom to a 7 month old boy. He had acid reflux in the beginning, but the good news is that he's growing out of it already, so your son will too. The common signs for us were frequent spitting up, uncomfortable squirming, coughing, and crying in pain. We had to switch formulas a few times, and finally settled on Alimentum, which along with Nutramigen is one of the most expensive, but seems to be the most gentle. We found that our son digested the liquid better than the powder, so that's my first suggestion. We also made sure to burp him frequently and hold him upright for 30 minutes after every feeding. Also, when he was very little and slept in the bassinet, we used a sleep positioner wedge so he would be tilted upright. Then when he moved to his crib, I bought a wedge at Linens N Things for under the crib mattress. Even though he slid down most nights, it seemed to help his reflux. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Is he spittng back each feeding? All or most of it? Is he having regular bowel movements and urinating normally? If any of these change,or he is losing weight,see your pediatrician right away.
If his skin gets blotchy looking or the soft spot on hjis head looks to sink in at all he may be getting dehydrated.Bring him to the doctor immediately.
This more than likely can be treated with medication if acid reflux is what it is.
I would mention any concerns to my pediatrician,though.

My baby was not diagnosed with Acid reflux but had severe colic. It was quite unbearable with the non-stop crying and the inability to console him. Two things you should be aware of: 1)Try Gripewater made by Baby Bliss. This proved to be a real life saver and the only product that was found to bring relief to my baby. The other point I want you to know is that many insurance companies consider Nutramigen and Alimentum a nutritional supplement and not a standard formula and your insurance may cover it. Mine did. I was paying $22/can for Alimentum in the store and was going through approximately 1 can per day but my insurance covered it and I was getting a case of 6 of the same size can I was purachsing in the store but the case only cost me $4.oo. Well worth checking into with your insurance. Hope this info is helpful! Best of luck to you and your baby and I hope you soon find relief to the acid reflux. Have a good day! K. G.

Hi, I have three boys and my youngest is showing signs of acid reflux as well. He is 5 months old and breast fed and I tried everything from changing my diet to changing his feedings. Turns out a trip to his dr confirmed it and some prescribed meds for 2 weeks helped a bunch. The signs he showed were:

Throwing his head back each time started to nurse and arching his back.
Pulling his legs up and "squirming" always in our arms
Crying whenver he was put down
VERY VERY gassy baby
Seemed to have a lot of problems getting his stools out - he would go regularly but always seemed to be "pushing" hard to get it out.

The med is a rx for a pepcid AC type. I am not big on giving my kid meds, but this worked and he is a lot more comfortable. Now it is time to start him on food so we will see if that triggers a reset. Good luck with your little one!

My son is now 7 months old and has acid reflux, he is on Allimentum and Prevacid. Some signs of acid reflux is vomiting, baby crying after feeding, cough. My son was on Axid and sometimes they outgrow their medicine and so they had to switch him. Sometimes with acid reflux they could also aspirate into their lungs, they think my son is doing that because he has had several xrays showing atelectasis which is partial collapse of the lung. If they put him on medicine you should see a happier baby, and less throwing up. My son was also allergic to milk protein so he was not just throwing up but projectile vomiting. Hope some of my information is helpful

Well when my daughter was born and I spoke to my pediatrician about what to me seemed like alot of spitting up, she told me the difference was weight gain. If she's spitting up here and there...but she still is gaining weight - than she called it the annoying clean ups or something to that effect - she said if the baby was spitting up and not gaining weight...than you have a bigger problem. My niece and nephew both have the acid reflux and is on axid, and they are on Enfamil Ar, it's a rice based formula which is thicker and therefore helps it stay down..if they are suffering from the acid reflux. Speak to ur pedicatrician, ask about the enfamil ar if u r still concerned that he is spitting up too much.

My daughter has acid reflux. I realized it when she came home from the hospital. You could hear her gulping after her meals when I put her down in her crib. She would be spitting her food up a half hour before she was due to eat again. Her nose was constantly full of mucus. She had terrible gas and cried for hours. We were up most of the night. She was constantly cranky. It took several trips to the doctor and the covering physicians before one of them finally recognized it. Apparently, the reflux was so bad that it was effecting the soft tissue in the back of her nose. The doctor suggested keeping her in an upright position for a half an hour after she ate. He also suggested slightly elevating her at an incline when she slept. The doctor also suggested using Mylcon when the situation dictated it.

Good luck.