Reflux tips

pwurple

Loads of us have refluxy babies, here are my tips fir what is working for us. please add more or let usknow when they grow out of it!

Changing time:
Nappy changing mat needs to be sloped.
Roll baby from side to side to get nappy out instead of lifting their legs or bum.


Winding, rub in circles instead of tapping their back. Tapping seemed to bring everything up again.

LH2013

I find once he is fed and winded laying him in the feeding pillow helps ! He is elevated and falls asleep in it .. Breathing is better in it also !

Also winding after 2ozs helps !

cyning

Tapping really helps relax my little one: it's mad how different they can be.

I find the sling great for keeping her upright after feeds. Use my nursing pillow to keep her at an angle.

Buy washing powder in bulk

The terry nappies make great burping cloths, and oodles of Muslins.

Synyster Shadow

Yeah Lucy settles with my tapping her back too. She loves falling asleep at night with her wind not gotten up so I have her in bed with me and when she squirms I lift her wind her and then she goes into her elevated Moses basket.
More winding than normal during feeds.
When you think you got ot all up try for another 10-15 mins lucy always has more stored up.

Roesy

My little girl has silent reflux and has been put on Zantac for it. things I found helpful for it were/are using the sling to keep her upright and I can get things done around the house and baby massage to relax her. Elevating the mattress didn't make a huge difference for us. Anti reflux formula helped though. Gaviscon just made her constipated and she got a little tear going to the toilet.

Soooky

Another silent refluxer here in our house : (

Our little one finds great comfort in having her bum patted - it helps release any trapped wind down there too : )
We never lie her down within 20 mins of a feed either. She is on infant gaviscon but I don't give it as per the instructions - I just give a half dose twice a day as I found giving 2 sachets together really gave her constipation!
Sometimes if her reflux is really bothering her I put on an app called White Noise Baby which has a white noise sound called Conch Shell - she loves it! She also has nightly bath to help relax her and I massage her tummy after : )
Getting near weaning onto solids time soon and feeling a bit nervous about that and hoping that it helps her reflux...

Toots

I found a sleep positioner was great cos it has them elevated a bit. My little guy would often spit up during the night and not wake up. The sleep positioner solved that for us. When we weaned on to solids we would give a small feed alongside a bottle before bed, just something like the baby cereal mush, and having something solid in his tummy seemed to really do the trick because within a fortnight the reflux was gone.

olaola

We're suspicious that himself has silent reflux - he has hiccups, arches his back & straightens his legs, sounds quite snuffly, chokes and gurgles a good bit. Sometimes wants to feed constantly.
We have 6 week appt next week, will see what GP says.
He feeds very well and is putting on loads of weight, so hoping it's just mild?

Roesy

olaola wrote: »

We're suspicious that himself has silent reflux - he has hiccups, arches his back & straightens his legs, sounds quite snuffly, chokes and gurgles a good bit. Sometimes wants to feed constantly.
We have 6 week appt next week, will see what GP says.
He feeds very well and is putting on loads of weight, so hoping it's just mild?

Sounds similar to my lady but she used be very distressed. On bad days we couldn't put her lying down for naps. She fed for comfort though, a bit of a vicious circle, but did gain weight as normal.

Oh, and we were wondering why she wouldn't take a soother. According to the gp the sucking motion activates the acid and some reflux rabies realise that it makes them worse and won't take them.

nikpmup

Roesy wrote: »

Sounds similar to my lady but she used be very distressed. On bad days we couldn't put her lying down for naps. She fed for comfort though, a bit of a vicious circle, but did gain weight as normal.

Oh, and we were wondering why she wouldn't take a soother. According to the gp the sucking motion activates the acid and some reflux rabies realise that it makes them worse and won't take them.

That's interesting, my lad absolutely wouldn't take a soother (despite my best efforts!) My boy would gag lying down, he then would produce milk out his nose and would start to cry - this could be two hours after a feed.

I was looking at this the other day, saw it in Smyths and saw something similar in another shop, think it was called a baby nest, I would consider it for #2 esp if s/he was refluxy as well. We used to put the little man down for snoozes in a little beanbag, had a similar effect of keeping him propped upright. He still loves it but the little fecker can escape from it now

Synyster Shadow

Yeah Lucy won't suck her dummy instead sucks her bottle and falls asleep with wind. Nightmare at times.

Soooky

We had our little one in a cocoonababy from the day she was born, long before the silent reflux reared its head! The cocoonababy is supposed to help prevent reflux and cost us a packet!

Then again maybe she would have been worse if she wasn't in it! She grew out of it at 4 months and to be honest at that stage I felt it was preventing her from passing her trapped bottom wind as she couldn't really wriggle/move about in it...

Soooky

Just out of curiousity - did any of you with a little refluxer change from bf to formula and did it make any difference? Considering changing the bedtime only feed to the formula that's specifically for reflux to see if it makes our LO more comfortable during the night - my thinking is less feeds less reflux/wind/waking up...

olaola

Roesy wrote: »

Sounds similar to my lady but she used be very distressed. On bad days we couldn't put her lying down for naps. She fed for comfort though, a bit of a vicious circle, but did gain weight as normal.

Oh, and we were wondering why she wouldn't take a soother. According to the gp the sucking motion activates the acid and some reflux rabies realise that it makes them worse and won't take them.

Ok, he's nowhere near that bad! Maybe a little fussy at night?
It's our first, and we're just not sure how often babies cry!!

newtoboards

Soooky wrote: »

Just out of curiousity - did any of you with a little refluxer change from bf to formula and did it make any difference? Considering changing the bedtime only feed to the formula that's specifically for reflux to see if it makes our LO more comfortable during the night - my thinking is less feeds less reflux/wind/waking up...

I stopped breastfeeding because my son would puke it all up on me and I even used upright feeding positions recommended by Kellymom. I expressed and bottle fed that along with formula and fed him completely upright and kept him upright for about a half hour after feeds. I good nursing chair is so worth it for this. I also fed little and often which made me very very tired but was worth it. There were two sachets of gaviscon in each bottle too and I was nearly broken. I'm now down to 4 bottles a day and one sachet of gaviscon at 6 months but sitting upright, loads of tummy time, reflux wedges, and solid food has made a serious difference. Particularly tummy time; it's so amazing considering how much my son hated it to begin with. Only do tummy time on an empty stomach though or else you will be looking at feed coming out their nose!

taxus_baccata

Soooky wrote: »

Just out of curiousity - did any of you with a little refluxer change from bf to formula and did it make any difference? Considering changing the bedtime only feed to the formula that's specifically for reflux to see if it makes our LO more comfortable during the night - my thinking is less feeds less reflux/wind/waking up...

I wonder would a lactation consultant be of help in this situation? Maybe some advice on different feeding positions etc. might be useful. It would certainly work out cheaper than formula in the long run? I don't know your situation but maybe there could be other issues such as tongue tie, oversupply etc. at play?

Changing to formula might effect your supply (I'm no expert in this area and I'm unsure of the age of your baby!) and it might not make much of a difference?

Very very best of luck, its hard being a mom at the best of times but reflux is especially tough x

aiseiri47

Reflux usually result of overactive let-down, oversupply or something in mother's diet (unfortunately, dairy is usually the culprit, and it can take a couple of weeks to get dairy fully out of system). The solution for reflux tends to lie in the cause of reflux; change of positions can help with supply or over-active let-down issues, as can unlatching baby and catching initial let-down in muslin/towel and latching back on.

TBH, even if formula resolved reflux issues because of bf-specific issues, it would definitely still cause digestive discomfort and could lead to other problems like constipation (and so on). My LO was combination fed for first few weeks and always got cranky, discomforted after formula and usually vomited half of it back up; she also had issues with constipation which is not known to happen with exclusive breastfed babies. The whole thing was a nightmare I was so happy when my supply had returned enough to exclusively bf again. She only had issues after breastfeeding from side-lying position which I later found at is something very young babies struggle with because of head/neck control, and they're usually better able for it around six weeks.

cyning

Soooky with my first little girl I had been topping up with formula: she had silent reflux and it improved when I weaned her off the formula (and again when I got her constipation sorted). So not necessarily: if you wanted to try it though maybe pump and freeze the milk you would have fed so if it's not working you can go back to feeding her yourself?

The tongue tie is an important one for anyone breastfeeding and dealing with reflux. If you hear a clicking or slurping sound baby is swallowing air: it's not going to help. I had S's tongue tie snipped at two weeks but it has helped the reflux: she still swallows air though she's on Zantac now.

Has anyone tried anything like an osteopath or baby massage and found it worked? She's definitely in pain with it but I'm highly skeptical!

wicklori

Breastfeeding is the best treatment for reflux. Recommended reading: colic solved by Bryan Vartebedian a paediatric gastroenterologist and father of two, one child with bad reflux. He explains why breastfeeding is best and how to keep going through reflux, appropriate investigations and treatment. Unfortunately there is lots of bad advice and people insisting that switching to formula is the way to go, the evidence says it's not. A LLL or cuidiu meeting would be a great help too? And a sling!

pwurple

I found reflux got worse when i stopped bfing. She tended to overfeed and bring up more, much easier to overfeed on the bottle. When she brought it up, she then wanted more (bad taste in mouth i guess?) and the cycle would repeat. Wish i had been able to continue the breastfeeding, but ut didn't work out.



The dummy, my phn said to persist, and the sucking settles the tummy. No joy here on it yet. Dunno whether to keep trying if it makes it worse afterall!

newtoboards

pwurple wrote: »

I found reflux got worse when i stopped bfing. She tended to overfeed and bring up more, much easier to overfeed on the bottle. When she brought it up, she then wanted more (bad taste in mouth i guess?) and the cycle would repeat. Wish i had been able to continue the breastfeeding, but ut didn't work out.



The dummy, my phn said to persist, and the sucking settles the tummy. No joy here on it yet. Dunno whether to keep trying if it makes it worse afterall!

I persisted with the dummy and my son still uses it now but he's also a thumb sucker so he goes to sleep with dummy and then finds his thumb during sleeps if needed; his thumb is great during the day and dummy for dire emergencies now. I have no idea whether or not it works but I thought it was worth it after paediatrician and PHN were so positive about its effect on reflux and it did stop the comfort eating when I was using it during and after each feed.

I did infant massage too but found that it didn't work but my son was just 8 weeks old at the time and I didn't persist with it. I've heard of people going to chiropractors and to some woman somewhere in Meath for a natural remedy and other weird and wonderful alternatives but I've gone the conventional medical route in treating the reflux and we're almost out the other end of things (although I'm covered in my son's lunch as I type!!!!).

edit - on the breastfeeding; I found it soul destroying watching his feed coming up on top of me so I went back to the lactation consultant in the hospital and she walked me through different feeding positions with the Kellymom website for support as well as engaging the PHN in giving support. I was also recommended to go gluten and dairy free to help but as I explained to the nurse I was already free of both save for the week I was in hospital after the birth and they didn't get what a restricted diet meant! She then told me to get a hospital grade pump and pump what supply I could. My supply did get smaller when I pumped but it was better than switching completely to formula.

LegacyUser

We had reflux with our little one. Things that helped... keeping upright after feeds, wearing in sling after feeds, gripe water from McGrath pharmacy in blessing to made a big difference and osteopath also helped and he eventually grew out of it. I wouldn't think formula would help at all as plenty of babies suffer with reflux on formula also. Hope it eases soon as I know it's very distressing.

John Mason

I think my 15 day old son has silent reflux not sure but have an appointment with an osteopath next week.

Synyster Shadow

Poor lucy has more silent reflux than out right puke it up. She puked sunday after been passed around non stop! Course im over protective and silly...

She looses her breath for ages with the silent and chokes with it.. Had two awful episodes the rest were minor.

She loves been held which is all that settles her most days. Ive noticed when her hands are tuked in with a blanket like been swaddled she settles instantly too. Never did it when she was born as her brother hated it.

The gaviscon is been used the last few bottles to help her with the silent and seems to have eased her far more today

wicklori

I asked a friend about this and she had this to say- from a lot of experience of reflux and breastfeeding...:
My last 2 babies had reflux, got Zantac from dr, works brilliantly but also learnt that don't give baby all the fore milk , let it leak a bit and keep baby sucking on same breast for at least 3 feeds so it gets the creamy milk ( hind milk), this makes baby more full and satisfied and less irritable. Milk will come in whatever breast u put baby on, I still just try diff things but wouldn't do anything other than BF. Also maybe try baby sitting up feeding instead of baby lying down ... Hope this helps

Soooky

Thanks for taking the time to reply folks : )

My LO is 5 and half months old now - she was diagnosed with silent reflux at 3 months, although I had long suspected it and had implemented different positions, eliminated dairy, citrus fruits, chocolate, caffeine and the usual "windy foods" from my diet. She latches on well and feeds more or less sitting up with her head higher than her tummy. We feed from one side for a couple of feeds to make sure that she gets all the hindmilk. I wind her for ages after and keep her upright (sometimes I fall asleep with her still on my shoulder!). She has a nightly bath to relax her and I do a little baby massage on her then. Her cot is elevated as well. We have gone to a chiropractor and also a lady who was supposed to have a cure. She is on gaviscon and zantac which does help thankfully : )

I was thinking that if I try the formula it would only be for the bedtime feed, to help her get a full nights sleep - I don't mind being woken but thought she would feel better getting a full nights sleep (ie something like 8pm - 6am with maybe 1 feed during the middle of the night) OH would give it to her while I pump just in case it all goes pear shaped! But not so sure now after all your lovely advice!! Parenthood is a minefield : ))))

wicklori

Soooky wrote: »

Thanks for taking the time to reply folks : )

My LO is 5 and half months old now - she was diagnosed with silent reflux at 3 months, although I had long suspected it and had implemented different positions, eliminated dairy, citrus fruits, chocolate, caffeine and the usual "windy foods" from my diet. She latches on well and feeds more or less sitting up with her head higher than her tummy. We feed from one side for a couple of feeds to make sure that she gets all the hindmilk. I wind her for ages after and keep her upright (sometimes I fall asleep with her still on my shoulder!). She has a nightly bath to relax her and I do a little baby massage on her then. Her cot is elevated as well. We have gone to a chiropractor and also a lady who was supposed to have a cure. She is on gaviscon and zantac which does help thankfully : )

I was thinking that if I try the formula it would only be for the bedtime feed, to help her get a full nights sleep - I don't mind being woken but thought she would feel better getting a full nights sleep (ie something like 8pm - 6am with maybe 1 feed during the middle of the night) OH would give it to her while I pump just in case it all goes pear shaped! But not so sure now after all your lovely advice!! Parenthood is a minefield : ))))

The verybest of luck with it all- I don't know how to tell you this but!! My fella is 14 months and has only started sleeping 7:30-5:30 in the last week. I never had any expectations of him sleeping though as I believe babies start to slepp when they are ready and not really beore that so when people asked me I always eplied with a smile that of course he wasn't sleepin through the night- nor did I expect him to! He usually had one very quick feed around 2 which he very much enjoyed but we fed in his room, in the dark with no talking! It was our special time when the rest of the world was asleep.

Soooky

Ha ha when people ask me me if my LO is sleeping the night I just smile & say "oh she is"!! Can't be bothered telling them otherwise! Ah well sure if its feck all sleep for the next year so be it : )))))

John Mason

people keep asking me the same, i just laugh at them and say he is "2 weeks old what di you think"

i have also been told there is nothing wrong with him, he is just spoilt.

i have come to the conclusion the general public are idiots.

nikpmup

John Mason wrote: »

people keep asking me the same, i just laugh at them and say he is "2 weeks old what di you think"

i have also been told there is nothing wrong with him, he is just spoilt.

i have come to the conclusion the general public are idiots.

''You'll spoil that baby!''

Oh just feck right off!!

culsoh

My LG improved so much after we started added Carobel to her bottles. Before that it was projectile vomiting all the time, even just before her next bottle. She would cry as soon as she was laid down to sleep or on her changing mat - soon as we started adding the carobel she was much more content.

olaola

I'm still a little perplexed about the little man, during the day he's fine, but after his 3am feed he has all the symptoms... Hiccuping, choking, gurgling, coughing, pulling his knees up, going rigid etc. So he never really settles back after that feed.

I might try elevating his mattress at one end?

January

I'm the opposite... Little man is fine during the night, sleeps great, feeds great...laying flat on his back is no prob.

During the day he gets the hiccups, pukes after every feed, arches his back, cries and won't lie flat for any length of time. It's like the feed is hurting him after two ounces because he just refuses and shakes his head.

Roesy

January wrote: »

I'm the opposite... Little man is fine during the night, sleeps great, feeds great...laying flat on his back is no prob.

During the day he gets the hiccups, pukes after every feed, arches his back, cries and won't lie flat for any length of time. It's like the feed is hurting him after two ounces because he just refuses and shakes his head.

My little girl was diagnosed with silent reflux very early but the phn was disagreed at first because of the fact that she was good at night. During the day it was the classics: hiccups, back arching, not able to lie flat for any length of time. Poor little bub ended up on Zantac a few weeks later. She's now off the Zantac and is starting to bring up a lot of acidy stuff into her mouth again :-(

January

Switched him to comfort formula from his first bottle this morning and he wolfed the third one down and drank all but half an ounce of the fourth... soundly asleep now but did have about an hour and a half of crying just before that. Due a feed now in a few but he seems to be getting on OK for now. Hopefully won't need Zantac or Gaviscon etc...

pwurple

My small girl seems to be growing out of it gradually... 10 weeks old at the moment, only one or two episodes a day now instead of 8-10. Keeping much more of her food down, and gaining weight, which is a relief.

Gaviscon did nothing for her, except produce horrible nappies. She would dry retch instead of throwing up, and was very distressed with it. Same for the stay-down formula, but that constipated her. So we stuck to wearing a sling during the day, elevation of cot at night. Small feeds, very often, and it's passing bit by bit.

It's a bit like having a preemie with the feeding pattern.

Synyster Shadow

Well my little one is puke free for a week now.. But the pains and wind she's had are awful.. One night putting her on her belly eased her and the next night didn't.. Now two nights in a row only swaddling helped.. Maybe there's something to it.. Day one was 8 hours screaming after 5 days it's down to 20 mins here and there.. A long way from 8 hours straight

January

Ok, so switched him to the comfort formula but he's still puking a lot, screams when put down during the day, coughs and hiccups a lot (sometimes even before we've started winding), will cat nap for 5 mins during the day and then wake up screaming. He's gaining weight though and sleeping well at night...

Does this sound like silent reflux? We have our six week check up this week and I'm prepared for doc to fob me off because he's gaining weight and sleeping well but I hate the thought of him being in pain during the day

Synyster Shadow

I rekon it is.. My little one was puke free for over 4 weeks and 4 days ago after days of screaming started puking again.. I went back to GP was given zantec again and new formula and no puke since 2 days ago.. So think it's OK again.. Hers goes and comes back don't know why..

She seems like she's chewing something at times so think it's the silent reflux too.. She sleeps at night and now settles great during the day..


I HATE REFLUX AS MUCH AS SHE DOES

January

I'll ask the GP for Gaviscon maybe as a starter so... see if that works.

Synyster Shadow

I found she didn't like gaviscon.. But my cousins baby who's a month younger thrives on it..

Anything that could help try it

cyning

I had S at doc during the week: she's 12 weeks, 13 pounds 6 ounces, and is gaining weight (100g a week over 4 weeks). But because it's under what's considered normal and she had dropped from 97th percentile to 75th (although heading back to 85th), he started her on carobel on top of the Zantac. So doc isn't worried but did listen to me. She's breastfed so she's getting spoonfed the carobel because she's breastfed.

The difference since Fri is unreal. She's only had the hiccups once. She only used two bibs today (I used 6 in an hour on Wed). It's unreal: and despite feeding non stop in a growth spurt we've only had 2/3 big pukes today. I'm so happy I could cry! Oh and she's had 3 poos. She was only once a week before that. And no breathing weirdness, but that can be hit and miss in fairness.

So go with your gut. I am so sorry I didn't a month ago. Gaviscon didn't work for S, but did with mild silent reflux with C.

January

cyning wrote: »

I had S at doc during the week: she's 12 weeks, 13 pounds 6 ounces, and is gaining weight (100g a week over 4 weeks). But because it's under what's considered normal and she had dropped from 97th percentile to 75th (although heading back to 85th), he started her on carobel on top of the Zantac. So doc isn't worried but did listen to me. She's breastfed so she's getting spoonfed the carobel because she's breastfed.

The difference since Fri is unreal. She's only had the hiccups once. She only used two bibs today (I used 6 in an hour on Wed). It's unreal: and despite feeding non stop in a growth spurt we've only had 2/3 big pukes today. I'm so happy I could cry! Oh and she's had 3 poos. She was only once a week before that. And no breathing weirdness, but that can be hit and miss in fairness.

So go with your gut. I am so sorry I didn't a month ago. Gaviscon didn't work for S, but did with mild silent reflux with C.

Ohhh the breathing thing too, Luke is very grunty! He snores worse than his dad!

cyning

The breathing is driving me nuts! Aside from the grunting we can get very slow breathing followed by very fast breathing and crying. She goes blue around her lips from it at times. Doc says blue around lips can be very normal, don't worry etc, but thankfully seems to be getting less and less now. It doesn't help she got pneumonia so young and needed oxygen which obviously makes me a worry wart.

I just can't get over the difference the carobel made. It is so much better than the Zantac. Well it seems that way anyway!

Hello, Just wondering what age your baby was when they grew out of the reflux? Thanks

cyning

My first had mild silent reflux and it dramatically improved about 4 months. I think it all depends on baby though and hers was mild.

We started on losec today instead of Zantac. So my poor 3 month old is on losec, carobel, gaviscon and lactolose. I'm utterly exhausted from it.

Synyster Shadow

I found carobel great but making the bottles was daunting... Did you find it seperated when bottle was in the fridge? We had to stop using cause she started puking again so now back to zantac and new formula

Teachm

Hi all.just came across this thread and it brought back memories.my daughter is now 7 and had severe reflux.she was fine for first 3 days in hosp but then it started.projectile vomiting.like the exorcist.basically I took two hours to feed her and in order to keep it down had to hold her vertically during feed and for hrs after.my arm ached.public health nurse was useless.the day when I thought she was not able to breathe I brought her back to crumlin.dr was brill and admitted her.that night was the first time I slept In five weeks.anyway they did X-rays etc.weak sphincter muscle at top of her tummy.gaviscon in bottles.zantac before feeds.infacol.mum returned home and could at last sleep coz we hired a monitor from Medicare that we'd beep if she stopped breathing.i was afraid milk we'd go into her lungs.sorry if this is a bit scary but once I knew she was ok I cd cope with the washing machine on constantly.got cuter bout havin towel over shoulder and in pram.had both cot and pram raised so that her head was always higher than tummy so acid would stay down.when she got older we had a little bouncy chair to keep her sitting up and she we'd even sleep in it that way.it gradually got better but to be honest was nearly a year and occasionally now she tells me a little sick has come up.

Changed to dr browns bottles to help with wind.




Feel a little sad sometimes when I see my friend holding her baby normally and baby playing on floor but sure you do what you have to.must have looked strange holding her straight all the time and nobody wanted to nurse her,too risky.

She's great now and when she asks what her first words were I tell her "puke" and we laugh.

Hope some of this helps ye coz I remember it being a very tough time and when someone would say " she's making her stomach" would feel like decking them.


Best of luck.

cyning

I'm breastfeeding so I make the carobel up as a paste and she takes it on a spoon. It worked great for a few days. It's frustrating to make up fresh every time she feeds though especially with a toddler running around!!

January

Seriously at my wits end this poor baby cannot drink more than 3 ounces without screaming, arching his back, shaking his head quickly... he pukes after every single feed, even with Stay Down formula. I've tried different bottles, different teats, different formula, infant gaviscon...

I'm getting severely stressed when it comes to feeding time... he doesn't settle during the day but come 8.30pm he's out cold and sleeps for the night, I don't know if it's from exhaustion or what... he is still gaining weight though... plenty of dirty (sometimes up to 4 poo's a day) and wet nappies.

pwurple

Oh the wee poor fella. Mine couldn't take more than three ounces for ages either. She's only up to about 5 ounces at a time at the moment, almost 4 months old. We still feed very frequently, every 3 hours, even through the night. But it is getting much better. She keeps more down etc. I was even able to put her on a flat playmat today for the first time. Granted, she did throw up, but it wasn't instantly like before... Lasted a good ten minutes.

Maybe just leave him at the three ounces very frequently for another few weeks? If he's thriving, sleeping, etc?