Help with reflux baby

[cara9499]

Hi all,

My 7 week-old just got diagnosed with reflux, although I have no idea how severe it is. We were advised to stop BF, and instead EP, using thickening agents in the bottle. Well, after talking to some of you on here and doing some research of my own, I've decided NOT to follow that advice. I want to BF. So, if any of you have reflux babies, can you please advise me on things I can do to help him? (He is taking Zantac, FYI). Do I need to watch my diet? Am I going to hurt him by NOT thickening his milk?? What else do I need to know. This is all new to me!

Thanks,
Cara

[Sweetbabs]

Hi sweetie. Only time will tell what you may need to do. All reflux babies are different. Some babies have true reflux and others have symptoms of reflux from food sensitivities. Yes you need to watch your diet very closely. A lot can upset a reflux babies tummy. Spicy food, garlic, onions, anything with a high acidity level. I would try taking out ALL dairy for a month and see how that goes. I posted a bunch of links in your other threads with info on milk sensitivity and allergies so please refer back to those. Again if your baby does seem better after two weeks on the Zantac then ask about Prevacid.

[Sweetbabs]

Here are all the links I gave you last time. There are a bunch more but the licks were not working. Please read up.

http://www.users.qwest.net/~fsdebra1/
http://www.infantrefluxdisease.com/
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/reflux.html
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html

This one is from a mother that breastfed two reflux babies
http://www.epinions.com/content_3882066052


http://www.llli.org/FAQ/ger.html

[cara9499]

Thank you- I did check some of those out and will look at the rest of them, as well. One question...my DS had an upper GI done, which is how they diagnosed him with silent reflux. Do I still need to worry about a milk sensitivity/allergy? I guess this shows my ignorance with reflux, but this is all new to me. If we are SURE he has reflux, do I need to still worry about milk?

[Nipple_nectar]

My baby had reflux. Zantac did not work, we moved onto prevacid with good results. She was not affected by what I ate, it did not change her symptoms. We did not use a thickener as I have previously explained we chose the route of delayed introduction to solids and we fared much better.

What symptoms drove you to testing your baby?

[Sweetbabs]

I am not sure. My dd never had any test done. She is 8 months old and is still suffering even though I have taken loads of stuff out of my diet and she has been on Prevacid since two months. I really have no idea either. Every baby is different honey. I guess if your baby is like mine and still is not getting any better then I would consider the dairy elimination. I have come the end of my breastfeeding journey.This week I have started to wean my little one to a soy formula to see if that works.

This is what the Dr. told me. " She should grown out of it by 6 to 12 months around the time her stomach should be getting stronger and be able to keep the food down."

I really do not have any divine information for you cause to tell you the truth I am still lost myself. My Dr. have been no help. The just keep saying she will get better. Good luck.

[Nipple_nectar]

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/reflux.html#thickenedfeed

[cara9499]

What symptoms drove you to testing your baby?

We actually took him to the ER because he had RSV. While he was admitted to the hospital, they gave him the Upper GI on a hunch because he had been choking and gagging during AND after his feedings.

[gravel10]

Ahhh :( my dd was has had reflux since about the same 7 weeks or so. BF is so much better. I was supplementing at first and any formula thickened or not made her vomit terribly. BF is so much easier on their tiny tummies and maybe your doctor is just not BF friendly some docs are not in to it. I ended up switching to a younger doctor who was super Breastfeeding supportive. Breast milk is much better for reflux.
Zantac worked for only a lil bit we moved on to Previcid and it has made all the difference. No spitting up even now.
Also my Pedi told me healthy sleep habits will make a big difference too and it really has.
She naps 2-3 times a day and we have a daily night time routine of bath, book, boob, and then bed.
it took a few weeks and some tears but she is an amazing sleeper and is doing wonderful now at 6 mths
When she does not get enough sleep she does regurgitate her milk some.
I got the book "healthy sleep habit, happy baby" and it helped me a lot.
Every lil bundle is different I agree with all the ladies on that.
but what always made my DD feel good was a warm bath sometimes with me to nurse as well. I would lay a warm wash cloth on he tummy, and i bicycled her legs a lot too to make sure to get rid of gases.
Also i found the bottle of expressed BM gave her a lil gas as she got some air. So I only nursed her unless I absolutely have to leave her. But i messed up there cause now she hates the bottle, I just never had the heart to let her get gassy. Any who hang in there it is tough. oh yeh I also strapped her onto me so she was upright all the time and got some skin on skin time too. every lil bit helps.
good luck and sometimes mommies know whats best for thier babies. Trust your instincts.

[gravel10]

oh yeh Elevated the mattess with a rolled blanket or towel it helped a ton.

[cara9499]

Thank You! Very Helpful! :)