hey Brooke
My first baby had horrible reflux. Wouldn't eat for 24 hours at a time. We would have to suringe feed her. I hate to say nothing helped for us except time. I did have one friend that had their baby sleep in their car seat inside the crib so they would sleep upright. I eventually had to stop breastfeeding, because she would never eat and I needed a break from constantly trying. So it was helpful to go to the bottle, so someone else could feed her. Have you tried cereal in the bottle. That sometimes helps. And I am sure you have tried all the "gas drops". Some of it really helps. But the best I can tell you is, time is on your side!! And I promise you are not alone. Sometimes knowing that other people go through it helps... good luck.
Hi Brooke. I'm so sorry to hear your baby is going through this. My 2nd daughter (now 10 months) was diagnosed at around 2 months old. We tried Prevacid as well, and it did nothing for her. When we started Zantac, it only improved a little. Then we went to a specialist who said that she was only taking one third of the amount she should have in a day. She said it's common for pediatricians to under perscribe because they go off age and not weight. I suggest you getting a second opinion. A few days after we upped the dose of Zantac it was like night and day. She still fussed at night (bad gas) but her spitting up stopped and she no longer needed to marathon nurse to squelch the acid reflux pain. Believe me when I say I'm not a big fan of medicine (my Doctor can vouche for me), but I tried altering my diet like others have suggested and got frustrated when it wasn't working for me like it did for everyone else. Another tip, though, in the meantime, is after we would get through the evening screaming, we'd get her calm and have her sleep in her car seat. It helped her because she was upright. She would sleep for five hours or more! Good luck.
My twin boys had this problem. They were born early and didn't come home untill they were 3 mon. old. They still only weighed 5 lbs.They tossed everything while I was breastfeeding.So we used the Zantac it worked ok. They were still spitting up a lot so the doctor suggested adding rice cereal to expressed milk 1 teaspoon per ounce. The thought behind it being far easier to toss a liquid than a solid. He said to let both boys sleep in thier car seats. It worked out well for me they grew out of it and are 7 now. Hope this helps.
Hi Brooke,
If you have anise or aniseed, you can boil a teaspoon in a cup of water and then give yourbaby 1-2 teaspoons of the water every 2-3 hours. You can find anise at an Indian store. Hope this helps...
Divya
I have a 4 1/2 month old who has had the exact same problem except she was bottle fed. I also had 2 other children with th same problem. Zantac has always seemed to make problem worse. with the advice of my ped. We started my baby on rice cereal. I added 1/4 ounce at first then 1/2 ounce to 6-7 ounce bottle. She quit with the fussiness, spitting up (as much) coughing and even sometimes choking. she even began to sleep through the night. We were also able to get her on a 4 hour schedule. Now at her 4 month check up . we began spoon feeding the rice cereal. Sometimes you may have to give some water, if constipation becomes a problem. No more than 2 ounces daily. Hope this helps.
Brooke,
Mylacon drops. these worked GREAT for my daughter when she did that.
Also some saline nose drops to help open up his sinuses. Sounds like he has a cold and that is stopping him from nursing well.
Hope this helps,
Barbara
deaffmommie
Both of my children have had awful reflux, mostly silent reflux (they don't vomit it all the way out, they swallow it back down, so it does more damage to their esophagus). I know it feels like you'll never get through this, but it gets better! No diet changes worked for me. Also, I would suggest you keep breastfeeding even though it is SO HARD with a baby like that. Formula is much harder on a baby's stomach and also changes their ph levels more than breastmilk, so it often makes the reflux worse (My daughter has never been able to keep formula down)and also can make the gas much worse. Make sure they are on the max. level of Zantac, and give it time. My son was 3 months before they started the medication, and there was so much damage by then that it took a month for his throat to heal even with the Zantac. Like the others have said, keep them sleeping with their heads elevated. It also helped me to keep them held straight upright for 20 minutes after as many feedings as possible. I tried lactation consultants, peds, everything, and while the Zantac helped a little they basically had to grow out of it. By 5 months they were both eating smoothly (as long as I kept their zantac prescription at its highest allowed amount per weight), but my son took a year to grow out of it and my daughter, 6 months old, is still going through it. She also has a lot of gas, and the drops did nothing. But as she's gotten bigger she's been able to pass it with less and less discomfort. I know what it is like, you try to explain how your baby pulls off and cries, and how many HOURS it sometimes takes to get through one feeding and they look at you like you're crazy. You're not! Good luck! You're not alone and it will get better!
I recently purchased Gripe Water from the pharmacy Rite-Aid at Habersham Square and it is all natural. Better than mylicon, which I've tried as well as she is on zantac and the rice cereal in the bottle. It must be refrigerated once opened. Babies have no taste buds until around 6 months and it is ginger based. It seems to be working well for my daughter who is 3 months.
Hi Brooke,
Colic and Reflux are varied by one major component. Time. Colic is usually both gas and spitting up, generally crying > 3 hrs a day (evening times are worser). After 15 weeks of age, are irritability & gas the same? Have your ruled out a milk allergy? Talk to your pediatrician regarding soy formula and your baby's symptoms. I loved breastfeeding my first two babies, but my third infant had reflux and it wasn't for us. Decide your battles and best wishes.
Mary Beth
I have to agree that Gripe Water is excellent!! My son spit up constantly and cried from gas pain so bad, but the gripe water always helped a lot.
I had a roomate that used formula whereas I breastfed and her baby seemed to have much more severe gas issues. SO if possible I would let the breastfeeding continue.
IT does get better ...it really does! my son is 6 months old and no more issues.
Brooke, I have 3 daughter, 2 of them had acid reflux and gas real bad, my middle daughter was on zantac, mylanta she eventually grew out of it. My youngest was said to have it too, a peditrician in the hospital told me about GRIPE WATER, it's big in europe, it's all natural herbs and such. I didn't listen at first then i was at my witsend with it. So i went to Kroger and bought some. (it's in the infant sections were food diapers and all the bath essitianls are) WOW!! What a differnece in my little angles, she was no longer cramping, spitting up having gas. She was a new baby. I recommended this to anyone. My youngest in now 18 months old and still teething, GRIPE WATER works great for that too and she loves taking it.
we just went to a specialist for my 3 1/2 month old son. i feel your pain. the specialist said that at 6 months most babies symptoms go away, and still a few last until 9 months. this is to do with the fact that the babies spend so much time lying on their backs. it helps to have him sit up for up to a 1/2 hour post feed. we have also found a swing to be really helpful. i actually just ordered an amby baby motion bed--this is supposed to help babies with reflux. nursing is really hard, when you have a baby like this--i just got mastitis for the 2nd time. never had any problems with my first son, when i was nursing him. hand in there. if you are comitted to breastfeeding you can make it--it is hard, and you'll need more support from family than usual. have you tried pumping and offering a bottle occasionally? my gi specialist said you can add 1 teaspoon rice cereal per every ounce of formula. hope some of this helps. i also asked the specialist about my diet--i gave up dairy and wheat and ate only non-acidic foods--he said not to worry about it--it wasn't what i was eating. this was great to hear since my bills from whole foods were escalating.
Thanks so much to everyone for your responses! This was my first experience on mamasource and I must say that I am hooked now! I wish I could personally respond to and thank everyone, but I’m sure you all understand that with a 2 1/2 month old that’s very difficult…
So, Thomas (my son) is doing much better. He’s still on the Zantac because it seems to be working well. I’m continuing to monitor my diet which is probably the most confusing part of this whole process. I forgot to mention in my initial question that he has been seeing a chiropractor since he was born, but now he’s going twice a week. Again, seeming to help. I hate giving him medicine (both the Zantac and Mylicon), but I want him to be happy. I also realize that his espohagus can be permanently damaged from the reflux if he isn’t on medication. Previously I was only using Gripe Water and Hylands Colic tablets and they just weren’t doing the job.
Again, thanks to everyone and if any of you come across and more info that wasn’t disucssed, I’ll gladly take more =)
B.