Sleep/Acid Reflux--Help!!

Both my kids had reflux as kids and had trouble with sleep at night.
I used their portable carseats in the crib for several months. If it is the portable kind you put the handle in the down position (make sure it locks in) behind the head side and it will tilt up the seat a little and not have them flat on the back.

It had the kids tilted up enough that it helped with the reflux, they got a great sleep without me having to hold them all night.

Have you checked into getting the sleep wedge things that go in the crib and strap your baby in so they are elevated as they sleep. My son had reflux as an infant too and we elevated one end of his crib, which kind of worked except he'd end up rolling down to the other end after a while. I ran across the wedges about a year ago, I didn't have one when my son was a baby but I wish I did!! They are designed for GERD.

You can probably google for them. If not, let me know and I'll dig up my resource from where I found them.

my son had a milk protein allergy which caused acid reflux. You might need a hypoallergenic formula, and the powder often causes more reflux than the liquid.

You can also buy a "crib wedge" at babies r us for $12. It elevates the babies a bit and helps minimize reflux.

Finally, my little guy wouldn't slees at all unless he was swaddled. You can get swaddlers at babies r us and they work great! They keep them wrapped tightly and happy-happy! Good luck! The early weeks are SO hard. It's normal to get only a couple of hours sleep at at time...even with one! It gets better slowly...with each passing week. :-)

My six mo. old had reflux. We have just taken him off his meds. We let him sleep in his carseat so he would stay at an incline. I tried propping the mattress up but he still did not respond. I think the carseat hugged his body and kind of "tricked" him into thinking he was being held. When they get a little older there are other options to improve their sleep but they are still too young as of now.

I have 2 boys 18 months apart and am STILL in need of sleep:) I think you should give yourself a break....let them sleep WHEREEVER!! they will sleep. Our 2 year old slept for months in the baby swing (while in motion) b/c of allergies. Our 8 month old slept in the bouncy seat wedged b/t rolled up blankets for weeks until we got his reflux and food allergies figured out. Do what you have to to get some sleep, 4 hours of solid sleep can make you feel like a new person.

Also, if you don't think you have the reflux thing figured out I suggest Dr Annette Whitney at Med City. Since we have been going to her and doing what she tells us to do we haven't had any problems. We thought our son just had reflux but it turned out he was allergic to soy and cow protein and we wouldn't have known that without going to her.

If you really need some sleep our church in Allen is having a parents night out on Friday 12/1 from 6-11, you could always drop them off and go back home and sleep:)

Hi K. -

I have 3mo old twins (1 w/Reflux) born at 36 wks. I was never told to keep my daughter up after feeding.

We burp her often during her feedings and she usually goes right to sleep when she finishes eating. Her last feeding at night is usually around 11:00 p.m. and she'll sleep til around 4 or 5 a.m.

Maybe your babies are used to the 30 minutes of awake time? I would try putting them down to sleep when they are done eating.

Also, I'm embarrassed to admit it but we let the babies sleep with us for about a month - I feel like it gave them security and warmth. When we transitioned them to their cribs, it wasn't a problem at all. We can now feed them, lay them in their cribs and if they don't fall asleep immediately they are learning to entertain themselves and eventually fall asleep on their own. (That usually takes about 15 minutes.)

Good luck!
M.

Hi K....I don't have any experience with this..but you might try joining www.dallasareamoms.com there are 100's of moms from the dfw area on there..some of which are mothers of multiples and premature babies..I bet you could find someone on there that could offer you good advice as well as friendship, and playdates. Good luck!

My daugher was a 24week preemie and had reflux. She always did better during the day too. Also they are on such little schedules from the hosp of bieng woke up all the time for things that they still do for a good while. I thought why is she doing so good during the day but not night and I then realized they really do about the same thing durning the day you dont realize it as much b/c your not tired and trying to sleep. When you get woke up it seems like they are waking up more. We put pillow under her mattress and proped her up on a pillow as well to her her reflux nad that made the biggest help of all w/ her sleeping. Well good luck...your super brave and super woman I only had one and it was so hard I cant imagine 2 at once. Best of wishes to you... i fully understand everything you are going through!

My daughter has acid reflux (she is starting to grow out of it at 9 months old now) and we had the same issue. We tried the wedges, and proping something under her bed to elevate it never worked. We went to a baby expo and found extra large swaddling blankets. I never thought that they would work, but they were A LIFE SAVER!! Go to www.beyondbabybasics.com and get some large swaddling blankets, the tighter you "tie them up" the better they will sleep. It is a MIRACLE!! Once my daughter started getting older and stronger we used the swaddling bankets combined with the velcro swaddler (sold at babies r us) that help her in nice. Once she was bout 4-5 months old we were finally able to stop swaddling.

Kelly, this sounds extremely familiar. I have twin boys who at that age didn't sleep hardly at all. They did have some reflux but after I took them to a pediatric gastroenterologist I learned they had a milk protein allergy and had to be put on a special formula, Neocate, to fix the problem. I highly encourage you to tell your pediatrician to refer you to one and get that checked out. I've been there and I know it's not fun!

Hi K.,
I know you may know nothing about Craniosacral therapy but it is something that can put an end to your childrens reflux. You can read about it on the Upledger Institutte website or Integrative pediatric therapy website. It is NOT a massage but a very light touch. We have used it for years for many things. I have a friend with twins who was going through the same thing you were and was at her last wit. SO I MADE her go and she thanks me all the time! It helped her kids immediately. Sally Fryer (Integrative Pediatric) has an office in Dallas and Plano. ###-###-####. They are wonderful there. And have even been on Oprah. I really hope you try this. If you have any questions you can email me ____@____.com Good Luck!! L.

I would say that at this age it is ok to let them sleep wherever they want. My daughter has reflux and she would not lay down to sleep for many months (she is now six months old and I just took the wedge out of her crib). She slept in her bouncy a lot and then I moved her to a moses basket. I also slept her on her side because for a long time she hated sleeping on her back (I think because of the reflux). I hate to say it but at this age, I think the norm is for babies not to sleep great. You need to do what is best for you, they are too young to develop a pattern quite yet, so put them where they and you can sleep.

Many babies don't sleep much at night at 11 weeks, but premature babies are behind "normal term" babies, so perhaps you are expecting too much. I have two sets of twins; my best friends are the Ocean Wonder Aquariums by FisherPrice and my 3 mo. olds often sleep in them a large portion of the night to allow food to digest better. Talk to your doctor about whether your babies need to be switched to Nutramagin, a special formula for babies with reflux; it saved one of my 3 yr old daughters. Also consider a night nanny if you can afford it. Mine is finishing up her second tour of duty at Thanksgiving and will have some nights available until mid-January; will be happy to provide name and number. For more assistance and resources with twins, consider joining a local Mothers of Multiples group. The Plano Area Mothers of Multiples is a www.pamom.org.

my son is now 1 yr but had reflux from birth. what was a TOTAL lifesaver for us was the tucker sling -- http://tuckersling.com/. we elevated the head of his mattress to about 30 degrees using old pillows & blankets between the mattress & crib frame. until the gastro had an opening for us, i slept in the recliner with him in my arms (6 wks). seriously, this sling was amazing and worth the cost. no need to buy the wedge -- just elevate the mattress.

as he grew we increased his meds and are now tapering them off. yippee! things drastically improved when he could sit on his own.

his gastro also had me out all dairy, eggs, caffeine, & beef from my diet because i was breastfeeding (still am, but we're slowly reintroducing these things into my diet to make sure he can handle them).

feel free to email me if you need more info!
good luck -- M.

I know exactly what your going through. I was a single mother of a newborn w/colic, acid reflux and nothing seemed to help. I tried all kinds of different meds, formulas, keeping him elevated and he kept on vomiting projectile until he was 13 months and now at 18 months he still does from time to time and gags very easily.
The last formula I changed was to enfamil soy and it worked wonders, It helped drastically. I finally was able to sleep better and no more going through dozens bibs/clothes daily.
You might want to change their formula. I couldn't imagine acid reflux w/twins. Good Luck and I will keep you in my prayers.

M.