Reflux Babies

Hi,
DS is 5 and 1/2 months and had just been diagnosed. He is my fourth baby and all of my babies have been "happy" chuckers and until the last few weeks ago he has been too but he all of the sudden started to scream and i mean SCREAM all day long constantly wanted to be held and threw up some old blood, the doctor said he has burnt his osephogus (sp?)from all of the throwing up.
He is now on Zantac and that has helped a bit with the throwing up but i was just after some tips on how to help him. he is also BF and just starting on solids.

Thanks

Hiya, I have had 2 reflux babies, thankfully neither of them medicated because I bottle feed I put them on a reflux formula and it made an amazing difference smile

Anyways things to try:
Elevate the head of the cot
This may be difficult while BF but try and keep baby as upright as possible while feeding
Burp several times during a feed
Keep baby upright for awhile after a feed
Lay baby on their tummy over your knees or forearm and gentley sway them/rub their back
Make 'cycling' motions with babys legs
Warm bath
Try some infants friend before and after feeding

That's all I can think of atm, hopefully some of it comes in handy smile

My DD1 was recently diagnosed at 5 1/2mths too, I agree with all of the above but we also give her 3 or 4 bottles of a specific Reflux formula called Novalac Reflux to supplement BF, I find a bottle especially right before she goes to sleep helps it immensely!

Hi there

Your poor little man! You should find that the medication will make a difference within a few days, if not you may need to try something else or he may need the medication increased depending on his weight. In the future too you will also notice that the symptoms may reappear which is often due to them needing an increase in dose due to a growth spurt.

As for the vomiting don't feel pressured to stop bf and put him on a thicker formula. You can get guarcoal over the counter from the chemist (speak to your pediatrician or dr before regarding the doseage). Basically when you bf you give them some guarcoal and it thickens up the breast milk in their stomachs so they dont vomit as much or as all. Should help with other symptoms such as wanting to constantly feed as he'll have a full tummy.

The other suggestions are all great advice. Some babies benefit from chiro as well.

When the medication is working and at the right dose he shouldn't have any pain, good luck smile

Cut down on your dairy intake. A large % of reflux babies are allergic to dairy. If you find the meds do nothing in the next week or so, I would cut it out of your diet totally for a bit and see if that helps. Both mine have had reflux and are allergic to dairy (our 4 yr old still is). Once we were off dairy they were both easily weaned of the meds and are fine unless they have some, which causing them to have tummy pains. There are many alternitves to dairy (olive oil based marg, rice milks, coconut milk etc) so it can be quite an easy change and worth it to see if it helps.

He seems to be going ok so far and generally a lot more happy. He is still throwing up but not nearly as much, seems alot more in the morning when i have the most milk.

I dont want to stop breastfeeding as this is the only time i have been this successful with it and i am really proud of that. i might try and cut out the dairy from my diet and see how that goes, his dad is lactose intolerant so he could possibly be also.

He really likes the cycling legs and i have elevated his cot so we will just see how he goes.

Thanks for the advice. smile

I would also agree with most of the above. My DD was intolerant to cows milk protein and soy and ended up on specialised formula and Zantac (Unfortunately I couldn't BF so my diet wouldn't have helped).

Anyway, Just wanted to add that if you are feeding bub rice cereal such as Farex, look out for ingredients such as the herb extract antioxidants they use as preservative. It is often Rosemary which can cause the reflux to flare. My DD loved the Rafferty's Garden cereal (non flavoured) and didn't react to them. Good luck, I hope you find it all settles quickly.

I agree completely with the PP about Raffertys Garden food!!! Its the only brand I can feed DD1 without her Reflux playing up... For her it seems to be the ascorbic acid that plays havoc on her tummy

Hiya. I am in tue same boat with my 14week old son who recently been diagnosed with reflux. We were put on Zantac but it didn't really worked for him som now he's on Losec which is a lot better. I'm breastfeeding too and my GP said maybe try and feed him less (my son tends to be a bit greedy) so instead of feeding for 15 minutes on each side, today I tried feeding 10 minutes for each side and he is more happy and less spilling. I'm not 100% sure whether to continue feeding 10minutes on each side as I'm afraid my son would only have the foremilk and not the nutritious hind milk. A friend suggested feeding on one boob each feed for 20minutes instead of swapping baby around, but I havent tried it yet. Any suggestions around this?

Hi All

Both of my babies also suffered from Reflux. I came across a product that helped make my babies more comfortable and I loved it so much, I have now started a business selling them. They are a baby lounger which I found to be so much better than traditional rockers and bouncers. Firstly because it places your baby on a comfortable seat on an incline following the feed and secondly they don't rock or bounce (which aggravates the symptoms of reflux). Sorry for the self plug, but I'm really passionate about my product as it helped my babies and I hope they will help other parents. my website is www.wassco.com.au - have a look at the loungers. I've also written a page all the Pros of Loungers over traditional rockers and bouncers - wassco.com.au/lounger-selling-points.

I hope you all find solutions to help your babies soon.

x

My son is also 5 and a half months and he throws up and had started to scream and won't settle unless I'm holding him do you think he has reflux and should be seen?