Two-month Old with Reflux - Help!!

Had the same problem with my son. We noticed it right away; unfortunately, it lasted until he was about 8 mos old. We took him to a pediatric GI dr. who was wonderful! Dr. Belkin out of Beaumont. The Zantac didn't work for my son. We had to put him on something else-it worked much better. I suggest giving him a call.

I have 2 kids.. both had reflux but it was different with each of them.

My daughter fussed and cried and spit up every time we laid her flat. even if it had been over an hour after she had eaten if you laid her flat to change a diaper .. milk would come oozing out of her mouth.. We started her on zantac at about 8 weeks.. it helped her quite a bit. I would say within days or certainly a week. she was a terrible nighttim sleeper from the beginning. we tried putting her to bed in a bouncy chair for while. It was a rough time. Teh zantac helped but the biggest help for her was starting on solid foods at about 4-5 months.. once she was eating rice cereal her food stayed in and she was much happier. We swaddled her for months. I was a walking zombie.. she did not sleep at night.

My son had had worse reflux he spit up every day for 14 months.. every single day... he was the happiest baby. never cried. we tried zantac it didnt help we tried prevacid it didnt help... I stopped both meds and did lots of laundry. He slept at night from day 1 often would sleep from 11-5 am from his first week home..

It is very hard to have 2 young kids. Mine are 18 months apart. Those first few months are very hard. The older child cant do anything for themself and the newborn is a newborn. The reflux is just making things a bit harder for you. The first child gets held and cuddled more and you just dont have the same amount of time for the second child.

It all works out in a year or so they play together and life is totally different.

Hi H.. I am sorry that you are having to deal with reflux in your child. I too have had a child diagnosed with reflux. We were told when my son was a week old that he had reflux. Same situation as you...you could hear stuff coming up, he would swallow constantly to try to force it down, he didn't sleep well, and would lose his breath many times. It is scary to see this in your child and I totally understand where you are coming from. My son was on meds for it for about 4 months. I weaned him off the meds to see if it had improved. It had slightly but not much. I started taking him more to his chiropractor and that helped significantly. So much so that I never put him back on the meds. He is now 7 months old and his relux is almost gone. Only now and again does he have symptoms. I was told that children typically out grow this from about 6 months to a year. Hopefully, your child will outgrow it soon.

I feel your pain, both of my children have had that, my ten month old still does. Only his was so bad he would choke and turn blue several times a night. His started at 5 weeks and he has been on all the meds. His new medicine is previcid and it works like a dream. As far as being split you are, he needs you and your 2 year old needs you. my oldest boy just turned 3 and his pottytraining has takin a back seat because of the amount of time for the other baby. Just when you can give her extra cuddles and love thats what I do for him, and so far so good. As far as sleeping sounds like your luckier in that department. The longest he sleeps is 1.5 hours at best. even holding him he doesn't sleep long. So I am of no help there. But hey if you get any advice on the sleep part let me know. Oh if your child is still your what helped when he was younger was swaddling and a prop pad of propping up the bed. Hope this helps good luck.

H. ~
My grandson had reflux horribly as a baby. He wasn't put on Zantac....they used something else, plus Reglan. The Reglan helps the stomach to empty faster, the other to decrease the acid (like Zantac). They tried different formulas, too, and he did the best on Prosobee. He would eat and do just fine, and about the time you were ready to feed him again, he would spit up. They had to feed him every 3 or 4 hours, no more than 4 ounces at a time, and had a tablespoon or so of cereal mixed in with the formula. According to the neonatologist that I work with, it normally goes away by about 9 months of age. My grandson was just over a year before it went away. I sometimes wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that he was intubated for 5 days after delivery.
good luck!
D.

It sounds like the zantac isn't working. I'd make a request to the doctor to increase the dosage or try a different medication (like prevacid).

At 3 weeks my son went on zantac, and within a couple of days his reflux symptoms stopped. I did continually increase his dosage (doctor's recommendation) as he grew and his weight increased. He's been off the zantac for over a year (he's 4 now), but he does stay clear of acidic foods like chocolate, tomatoes, oranges. If you are breastfeeding, it may help to stop eating the foods that are known to cause heartburn.

Good luck!

http://www.tuckersling.com/

H., our 3 year old son had the same problems. We didn't give him medication. I found this device online and it helped wonders. He slept for 5-6 hours at a time and he was no longer waking himself up by choking because he was bringing his formula up. This device keeps the baby at a 30 degree angle so that the fluids stay away from the throat/upper part of the airways. Read the story behind it and if you would like to try the device we still have ours and would be happy to help out.
K.

Snuggle spot...It is a baby bed/pillow that makes a baby feel like it is being held when you cant hold it. www.laneybug.net

I don’t know about you but I had a spoiled baby that only liked to sleep if someone is holding her. I got tired of sleepless nights so I invented this pillow that I call the Snuggle Spot. The pillow snuggles the baby so they feel like some one is holding them and they are safe. Babies love it, the first time I put my daughter in it she slept 9 hours straight and every night since! I put her in the pillow fully awake with a full belly, and swaddled. Since the pillow snuggles them the swaddle stays intact! I recently went out of town and I did not want to pack the portable crib, changing pad, etc. so I just took a chance and only took the pillow. It was amazing, even in a diff environment she slept all night. I just put her in the pillow in the bed next to me or on the floor next to me. It is the perfect Co-sleeper! I changed her diapers in it, She likes to watch colors and lights of the TV so i put it in front of the TV. It fits perfectly in portable cribs and in regular cribs. My Daughter has reflux and has to be elevated so that her formula stays down, The pillow slightly props her up so that she is comfortable and stays clean!!! If you have and questions or concerns or want to place an order feel free to send me a message. The pillow is totally custom, you can pick the fabric, name or saying.

My daughter was diagnosed with reflux at about 2 months old as well. She was prescribed medicine for it which I can't recall the name but we gave it to her in the morning and at night! We also added cereal to her bottles to make it thicker. Although I have to say the only thing that helped it really was time! I know that is disheartening to hear, I went crazy with my daughters reflux too. The medicine did help her with the discomfort I believe cause she did not cry as much as she normally did, but it did not help with the spit up! You said your son did not spit up much which makes you lucky. My daughter would open her mouth and flow like a fountain on a regular basis! It was not a fun thing to deal with, but that said my daughter is a very healthy 2 1/2 years old now and has no problems with it at all! She finally grew out of it around 10 or 12 months old. It seemed like forever though! I just learned that she was ok even though it seemed bad or wrong to me! It is hard to deal with and I have no insight on the second child since my daughter is my only child so far! We did not swaddle her, she hated it. She also did not sleep through the night until about 8 months old! and she also did have a little bit of the wheezing and cough too! I hope some of this helps! and Good luck! Just be patient and it will all be ok! I even forget just how frustrated I was now only about 2 years later! So it all works out!

Hi. My daughter also had reflux when she was 2 months old. The doctor gave her Zantac as well. She was not sleeping much, crying a lot, and could not keep any type of formula down. Soon after feeding, she would vomit. It would shoot out like a liquid torpedo. The Zantac started working right away. Also, when she was diagnosed with reflux at Childrens Hospital, a tube was put down her throat which lead to her stomach to release the air that was trapped there. If your son has a bloated looking belly, he may have air in his belly also. In this case the Zantac may not work as well until the air is released to give him some relief. Babies with reflux often have asthma. It seems like he may have asthma because of the coughing, wheezing, and the rattle sound that you hear. If you put your hands on his back or chest, most times you can feel it. My daughter was on Zantac until she was 7-8 months old and diagnosed with asthma when she was 2. She is now 11 yrs old free of reflux but asthma is under control. Don't worry, it doesn't last forever! I do remember that lying her across my lap on a bed pillow and patting her back with a cupped hand seemed to soothe her more than anything. If you try this, be a little more firmer on the patting than you would when burping. This does not hurt them with a cupped hand. It may also loosen up the mucus that you hear in his chest and cause him to cough it up. I hope this helps.

Have your doctor prescribe probiotics. That is the key.

H.,

I was lucky enough not to worry with this issue, however I have heard that if you give your child less at their feeding time, this can help dramatically as their little tummy's ARE VERY SMALL. Sometimes the typical four ounces is too much. I'd break it up and try it this way as I am aware that many doctors are very quick to diagnose Acid Reflux (of course, it may not be the case for you - every child is different.), but it does happen.

If you haven't broken up the ounces at his bottle, try it. It may be a big help. I'd give one or two ounces first - see how it sits after about twenty minutes - and then give another few ounces.

Sometimes even for babies the medications can be too much.

I had to give Mylanta for my son when he had to have a procedure done. Lets just say it was not the highlight of my day for his doses due to his discomfort with it. If your son is spitting up more - Mylanta causes nausea, constipation, diarrhea, or headache. I found that for the day my son's system was not happy after his dosing. I would never do it again. I don't even use it for myself.

A very serious allergic reaction are any symptoms of a rash, itching/swelling (especially of the face/tongue/throat), severe dizziness or trouble breathing.

Hi H.---I work with a pediatrician from Florida and recently asked her about the prevalance of acid blockers being prescribed for babies.

First, you didn't mention whether or not you are breastfeeding. This is Dr. Miles response. Reflux in babies can be taken care of with the practice of an elimination diet of the mother. In other words, you need to find the foods in YOUR diet that are causing the reflux. Your baby's digestive system needs to mature a bit to handle certain foods.

If you are not breastfeeding, then a change of formula is needed. Dr. Miles stated that the BEST is a predigested formula, which needs a prescription. It would be more expensive, but why wouldn't you want the best start possible for your baby.

Our diets have an enormous impact on our health. Making sure that we are eating nutrient dense foods and eliminating foods that detract from health should be our first and most important goal. Without our health, we have nothing. Eat a diet that consists primarily of raw, fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, legumes (beans and peas), nuts and seeds. Animal protein need only be a small part of the diet, as too much will lead to chronic disease.

Do you drink milk? Cows milk can be highly allergenic and could contribute to reflux. Go to www.strongbones.org to learn more.

I also work with a Naturopath who has her PhD in Nutrition. I am taking a series of Wellness classes offered by her so I can offer additional information if you would like to discuss it. Start keeping a food diary to see which ones trigger reflux in your daughter. I wish you luck. It is no fun seeing your baby be uncomfortable.

In health, D. ###-###-####

My son still has reflux problems (almost 4 years old), but we've been off the medication for 2 years now. what we did (we knew from birth about it), Was feed him only 1 oz of formula at a time, gas drops to help relieve the pressure in his tummy. Soy, not cows milk, and Reglen for a short while until his stomach started to behave some. I was unable to breastfeed, which everyone seems to agree is the best/easiest on infants with reflux, but we found that the Enfamil Lipil was the only type of formula my son could tolerate, and it made a huge difference in his problem. You may have to try a new formula every 2 weeks until you find the right match for your baby's tummy, if nothing else is working.

For sleeping, My son unfortunately inherited my insomnia, even now, but we found until we got on a good schedule with the meds, he had to sleep in his swing, or carseat, as they kept him in exactly the right incline for peaceful sleep. The Doctors really frown on this, but sometimes, you have to do what you have to do in order to get some sleep yourself. Even now, we use one of those elevating wedges for his bed (under the mattress), so he can sleep through the night (which he does most nights now).

I think the stats are that MOST Children outgrow reflux by age 1. However, it's not -just- an indigestion issue with infants, from my understanding, it's often that the sphincter at the top of the stomach/esophagus isn't fully formed, so acid keeps creeping up when the stomach is too full or gassy, and causes the vomit reflex.

Just hang in there! It does get easier, but makes you nutty in the process.

Hi H.,

My daughter didn't have issues with reflux but I did find that she slept better in her bouncy chair when she had a stuffy nose (and she was stuffy A LOT) since her head was elevated. When she was in her crib we definitely swaddled her, I finally stopped around 6 months since I didn't want to limit her ability to rollover and sleep on her belly.

Also, it might be easier for you to put your newborn in a sling while you have both kids by yourself. The sling would (1) keep his head elevated and (2) allow you the ability to be close to him and be hands free for your daughter at the same time.

Good luck to you!! Don't forget to breathe...

My daughter has it and I noticed it right away. By one month I had her in the doctor's office because she cried all the time. Her puke smelled really acidy too. I started her on Zantac which worked really well at first. I swaddled her for maybe 2 months, but maybe not quite that long. She really didnt' seem to care about it. But, the doctor did say to prop up her left side in bed or elevate her head after eating for about a half hour, which i did for the first couple months. Then, around 6 months it got worse, so we switched to prevacid. She is 10 months and still has it really bad. She will occasionally choke on it and if she doesn't get her medicine, she pukes up real acidy puke. My doctor said it should get better around a year. BUT, every baby is different!
Good luck!

First of all let me tell you that this too will pass. Right now it seems so all emcompassing and it seems like it will be this hard forever. It will not. My daughter was diagnosed with reflux when she was 3 days old. She had two spells where she choked, turned blue and I had to turn her over and perform the baby hymlic (spelling?). We rushed her to the pediatrician and he said reflux. I did not believe him because I had never heard of it being that bad that it would cause a child to choke. But after several months of battling it I realized it was. My daughter was very severe. We at one point were thinking we may have to have surgery to correct it. Thankfully enough we found a medication schedule that worked and managed her reflux.

The only thing that managed it for her was to take zantac three times a day. The doc split her dosage up so she took one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one at bed. We saw a GI specialist at Childrens Hospital and that was who helped us figure out her medication. If you find his medication not helping it may take a little creativity. Also some times you will notice it gets worse and that may mean your child has outgrown their dosage and it needs to be increased. All these things should be worked on with your ped or a specialist.

We also had a 21 month old child at the time and it was very hard to manage both. I found that at times when the youngest really needed all my attention I had to get creative. At times I would place a blanket on the floor and some "special" toys for my oldest daughter. I would tell her she can only play on this blanket until mommy is done. These toys could be playdough or stickers, but it was always something she could not play with all the time. Also I found I needed sometimes to turn on one of my oldest childs favorite movies. At the time Elmo and dumbo were her favorites. I would turn them on and her attention was glued for a few moments so I could handle her sister. And also sometimes I just had to ask for help. On days that were really bad I would call a friend or my mom or a sibling. Often just having another adult in the house made life much more managable. And I remember feeling like my oldest daughter was getting so little of my time. I would try to make special times, even if it was only 15 minutes, while the youngest slept to read, cuddle and talk with my oldest.

Now about sleep, I feel for you. Sleep with a reflux baby is very interrupted. My daughter slept for her first four months of life in a swing. Every night all night. Swinging for 8-10 hours. In the swing she would only wake up 1-2 times a night. Laying on her back she woke up every hour. When we did transition to a bed she slept on her tummy alot. I know most times it is not advised, but our pediatrician agreed that it was probably the easiest way for her to transition and the most comfortable for reflux babies. She was almost five months at the time and able to roll over on her own. Since your baby is still very young I would recommend having him sleep upright. Either in a carseat or in his swing or a bouncer seat. I felt like an awful mom for putting my child her swing all night, but looking back I realize it only helped her and me. She was ble to get some sleep and so was I. The first night she slept for an extended period in her swing she woke up so happy. She was miserable from lack of sleep. And she actually had very little problems transitioning to her bed.I was terrified she would never sleep in her crib and would sleep in a swing until she moved to college. LOL. She got to the point where eventually she was so big in the swing she seemed to love the bigness of the bed. That time feels like so long ago, but I remember so clearly how hard and exhausting it was. I felt like it would never end and she would always be waking up. Now she is 15 months old and sleeps all night in her own bed. Even when she moved to the bed she did not sleep all night until 9 months and that was only because I eventually made her cry it out. She stills has some relfux issues, although she has outgrown the very serious chunk of it. She is still on zantac. We tried to wean her a few months back and she had more issues, so we went back on. Most babies do eventually outgrow it so I am hoping she will too.

Hang in there. I tried so hard to think of all the questions you asked and to tell you what I wished someone had told me back then. But if you have any more questions please feel free to ask me. My heart goes out to you.

H. you are one of several moms whose babies/children are diagnosed with reflux.

Did you ask your doctor what caused the reflux in your baby?

My daughter from birth to 6 months and 1 week (yes I remember) did not have the "flap" between her esophagus and her stomach developed. I did everything to prevent her from spitting up. It wasn't projectile and she did put on weight. But it developed on her own and at 6 months and 1 week it stopped. Literally like turning off a faucet.

I tell you this as could this be the source of his reflux? I have acid reflux (which can be termed ulcer) and I just do everyday common sense things. For example, chew my food thoroughly and don't eat fast, don't eat right before going to bed, limit spicy foods, and to stay as calm as possible.

I also take supplements to help.

So for a baby to have reflux, what does that mean? And this isn't to insult you or any other mom whose child has reflux. I guess I am confused as to how children get reflux.

Unbelievable. A 2 year old on Zantac? Would you like a better solution? No meds. Acid reflux is indigestion. Sometimes the stomach gets moved out of whack and then we can "have dinner" several times over after eating. In other words, regurgitation. Mint often helps. I used to take a dab of toothpaste or chew gum to get the mint helping. And then I discovered that the stomach can be manipulated, much like a chiropractor manipulates the spine. In fact some chiros DO manipulate the stomach.

If you'd like the telephone number to someone who is an herb and supplements distributor AND does muscle testing and manipulation, let me know.

Just went through this same exact thing. My daughter has been on Prevacid since she was 10 weeks, worked right away. I wish I would have known she had silent reflux as I would have gotten her meds sooner. She has been the fussiest baby since day 1. As far as sleeping, once on meds I did continue to swaddle her and she still only slept for 3-4 hours. The meds didn't help her sleep longer until she got a little older. Her pedi said that Zantac doens't work for all children so he gave us Prevacid. Hang in there it does get better...there were times when she just had to cry b/c we could do nothing to sooth her.

ok BREATH!!! LOL The first thing you asked about was reflux? I have had three children with reflux. The best things to do make sure baby is upright when eating, put blocks under one side of his crib so ita up in a slant, so his head is up and his belly is down like. This can take up till a year or two my daighter still has issues and she is 9 shes on prevacid. My son has issues only once in a while depending on what he eats and hes 6. my other one is the same way she has it only on certain food and she takes tums so does my son. Foods that you will need to watch for in the future are citrus, acid foods like spagetti, pinapples, oranges, anything red with food die can give acid reflux and also sweet tarts are the worst. For now keep him up right up to an hr after he eats this is where the baby car seat comes into play you can put him in there to feed and to sit. Your other child issue... You are doing well I am sure but you may need to involve her and explain until he gets older you need to give him some attention more. Have her get diapers for you if you stick him in the car seat she can feed him with your help. Have her help play with him and help bath him. When your husband comes home try to at least three times a week take herwith you to tthgrocery store for an outing or take her to the park or out to do something with just her and you. Spend time alone with her when you can. If baby is sleeping spend that time with her. the other key is to breath in and out and you will need this alot breath down into your abdomen and than exhale list to your breath and it will help your stress get trelieved do it 5 times. If you can 10. Don't forget to take time for you. You are a mom but with out you haveing you time it can't happen smoothly. Its hard when there real small but in time things will work out and you will get a hang of it. You don't have to be at the babies every beck and call either just because he has reflux. If he starts to cry leave him as long as he is in no danger of anything and hes in a safe inviroment also if you use the car seat to put him in when you need to make sandwhich for your daughter or a meal than you can play while your prepairing the food with him or even have the daughter help you. By playing with her brother shes a big sister she has responsibilities have her help out. She will enjoy it and make sure you praise her on how a big sister she is and how much you appreciate her help. She will eat it up. Good luck

My daughter had reflux from the time she was a new born (preemie) until she started eating food. We used Zantac and Reglan,and had to adjust the doses as she gained weight. She did spit up a lot though.

We also swaddled her until she started rolling and could get her arms out of the blanket, then we just wrapped it around her, under her arms to keep her tight that way as this is how she preferred to sleep. I want to say it was about 6 months or so before we didn't swaddle any more. Sleeping through the night is different for every baby, I want to say that we were getting 6-8 hours at night around 4-6 months.

Good Luck!
J.

My sons reflux stopped when he started having solids