Seeking Advice on 7-Month-old with Digestive Problems

I have a son, now 6 months, with similar problems. Doctor prescribed Prevacid solutabs for the reflux. Seems to be very helpful. Also has constipation, even though he is exclusively breastfed (other than solids). Doctor suggested Miralax (previously only availably by prescription, but is now over the counter).All is working well. He still spits up a lot, but he doesn't seem to be uncomfortable. My pediatrician felt that both of these meds were completely safe so they were worth a try. And, luckily, they seem to work for us.

My son has the same problem and is almost 10 months old. It is getting better, but for the first 9 month of his life, he was spitting up every five minutes all day long. Sometimes he would spit up two or three ounces.

Limiting what she eats is obviously not working so that is not the problem....also, sitting upright never worked for me either. basically, it sounds like something they have to live with until she grows out of it, HOWEVER, if the baby is in pain, she needs medication. Our son was on Zantac and is now on Previcid. Neither of these medications prevent spitting up, but they do neutralize the acid so the baby doesn't feel pain. What about the tagamet didn't work? Again, these meds do not prevent spitting, but they do help with pain. I suggest that your friend's pedi give a referral to a pediatric gastroenterologist. Ours helped.

This brings back so many memories. Our daughter at 9 weeks was diagnosed with reflux. She was put on Prilosec. What they did not tell me and that I learned from reading the recommendations for adults was to take the Rx and wait 30 minutes before eating. Once we did this, plus put at tablespoon or two of baby cereal in her bottle it helped tremendously.

We did run into problems as she put on weight. The Rx dose is based on the weight of the child. If you have not been recently, that could also need adjusting.

When my daughter was ill from time to time we had to add the simply Thick to her formula and breast milk.

I have been a daycare provider for 12+ years and several children have had reflux. Has your pediatrician referred you to a G.I. doctor to have them check your little one out? If not, I would put the bug in his/her ear to do so.

My daughter is now 3 and still on Rx and doing wonderfully. 3 of the 6 children that I have had at the daycare are totally off the Rx. At our last check up with our G.I. specialist said that he will keep Samantha on her Rx at the same dose and only increase it if need be. But, if there is no need then as she grows she will gradually wean herself off. I sure hope that all this helps. If you need someone to talk to feel free to contact me. I wish you all the best. K. S.

My daughter started getting constipated at a few months old and she would throw up often at a young age. I used to have to do unmentionable things to get her poo to come out. For a long time when this all first started she would suddendly start crying like the worst painful cry you've every heard and it would be because she was trying to go poopy. My friends daughter has similar stories from her eldest daughter. Both of our children are older now (4 & 7) and they still vomit everytime they get a little bit constipated and have to take laxatives.

I took my daughter to a specialist. A Gastroenterologist (sp?) when she was still a baby and she went of a laxative once a day to help her digestive system until after she was potty trained. Maybe they could ask their pediatrician if they can get a referral to take her to this kind of doctor. They'll want to go to a pediatric gastroenterologist.

Same problem with my daughter. She doesn't have issues now at 9 months. It will go away on it's own. If it would make them feel better, ask the doctor about Nutramigan formula from Enfamil. It is more expensive so hope they have WIC. it is worth it though. Hope this helps.

Hi L..

My baby had the same issues. Does your friends baby have skin problems like eczema or rashes especially around the face or cradle cap. If so, she may have an allergy to milk protein; not to be confused with lactose intolerance. just a thought and hope this helps...
J.

Tell her to get a second opinion from another doctor if she's that concerned.

My 3 1/2 yr old was that child you are describing when she was a baby. Tell your friend that their baby will out grow it! It took til about a year for the regular puking to go away. Talk about a pain in the butt when they become mobile! She is still a puking kid! Cries too hard, puke, eats too much, puke, puts too much in her mouth, puke....ect...

Our second and so far our 3rd child did not have any of the GERD symptoms. We did not medicate b/c she was growing too, but it was a long 1st year! I promise it gets better!
K.

My Daughter had the same problem, she is almost 6 now. When she was 9 mo. old she had an upper G.I. (I think that's what they called it). We couldn't feed her for a certain amount of time and then they gave her a bottle filled with a thick grey liquid. They took pictures of her digestive system and found out a part of her esophagus was not developed. It was like a flap that usually closes after you eat or drink. It eventually developed because it stopped shortly after she turned one. She also has had constipation problems her whole life. We found from watching her diet that it is milk that constipates her. She does fine without milk so we give her calcium supplements. I hope this helps, it sound just like our daughter. Keep us posted I'd like to hear what the Doctors have to say about the baby.

My baby used to spit up all the time, minus the fussiness. At 9 months he has just about grown out of it. Do a webmd search on 'happy spitter', as that might be the issue. It's frustrating because they may feel like the doctor is just blowing them off, but some babies just spit up all the time without reason. I too wanted to do 'something' for my baby but after doing research on my own, I learned that some babies are just happy spitters. Some baby's digestive systems just take a little longer to mature.

And, just like my doctor said, he has grown out of it. We even did all the 'sit up for an hour' and sometimes that didn't work. Our baby took Enfamil AR which seemed to help. Also, once he hit 7 months and started eating thicker food, the spitting up decreased greatly. The spitting up was frustrating and disgusting but, just like my pediatrician said, he did outgrow it.

Hi L.,
My son had something similar too. He is now almost three. We found out he was lactose intolerant and that was what was causing the reflux (our son would choke on the reflux and had a hard time clearing it), gas, and constipation. Once we switched him to soy based formula and changed the way I was breast feeding him, it was resolved. A problem was apparant from the beginning and it took us about 4 months to figure it out. The pediatrician didn't figure it out first, we just kept researching, talking to other parents and our parents until we found the answer and then the doctor confirmed it. It was a huge relief. Hang in there.

C.

i had the same issues with my now 3 yr old dd, and my peds did nothing about it, they were kind of useless. so with my now 7 week old baby she was having the same issues and my new doctor set her up with a bunch of tests, we actually just had them today. my best advice would be to seek the help of a different doctor, because i went throught it with my older daughter for almost 8 months before it "went away", and it can be very upsetting and discouraging when your doctor will do nothing, and tell you to cut everything from your diet, when your diet may have nothing to do with it.