Any Mothers Dealing with an Infant That Has GERD and a Swallowing Disorder?

Hi,
My daughter is 11 months old. When she was 2 months she was diagnosed as "failure to thrive" and had issues with feeding (you can read about it on a post I did about 2-3 weeks ago if you want to know all the details--it's called "Blue Baby"). She is actually about to go for her second sleep study to check for whatever "obstruction" she is dealing with; in addition, she is still being checked for a cleft palate. Although she still chokes occasionally, and has a hard time unless solids are very pureed or in tiny, tiny pieces, she is much MUCH better than what she was way back when. Her problem was that her palate did not move normally, and wasn't "pushing" the food down her throat in the way that it should. She had a swallow study done @ 2 months, and it showed that she was aspirating on her milk due to poor palate movement. It got to the point where she too refused food because she was having to work so hard at controlling where the milk was flowing. The swallow study was no big deal, and lasts for all of 5-10 minutes. It will give the doctors a much clearer idea of what's causing the feeding difficulties. It was very alarming to watch her eat & drink, and I am still very careful when feedig her today. Once they discover what is causing the problem, they (and you) will be so much better equipped to care for his specific feeding needs. I know it will be a relief for you to finally understand what is going on! Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns about the swallow study or just want more details! The worst was not knowing what to expect! Let me know if I can help you in any way! :) H. I

Your baby might not have trouble swallowing but intolerance to some type of foods. I remember watching a TV show where there was a baby who would have trouble swallowing and all doctors tested her for some swallowing disorder. Everything came back negative. Finally, a doctor found out that the baby's body couldn't process proteins and this is why she rejected everything high in proteins. This might not be your baby's case but it is always good to test for things that are not too obvious. Children with cerebral palsy have trouble swallowing because the muscle needed for this action is very weak in these children. All your baby needs to swallow is to have a strong muscle to perform this action. I can't think of any test that would test for a swallowing disorder.

Hi A.
I have 18 month old twins and the girl had the reflux real bad. We were placed on zantac and reglan for over 1 year. Just in the last month or two we were able to stop completely. She would kick and scream when we would try to feed her. When the spoon was placed in her mouth, she would not even close her mouth. The milk (formula) is a very good source of nutrition. We never had to have the test done, but I have friends who has. If there is something wrong (ex. with the intestines) they can do surgery and this will correct it. By having the procedure done this will ease alot of worry and questions. I know this did for my friends. As she has gotten older, she does eat better but it takes her a while to do so. She still has moments of the reflux especially first thing when she wakes up. You both will be in my prayers - I kinda have been there.

My daughter is now 10 months and we have dealth with severe GERD since she was born. We started her on Prevacid at four months after seeing she was just becoming more uncomfortable. We gave it to her crushed, small bit in her mouth, dissolved in formula or breast milk, and in food. She had so much trouble with it. Not only was it challenging to give her but after a couple of weeks, she began to refuse to eat or drink after we gave it to her. She would nurse and wanted more milk or formula to compensate at other feedings. She also started waking at night (she had been sleeping through the night) and had severe constipation. We had to start giving her miralax on top it all. My son had been on Zantac when he was her age and never had these issues. I finally put my foot down and said we have to try something different. Once she started on Zantac it was just a couple of days and everything calmed down. It was easier to give and we had it flavored and she did not mind the syringe. She began eating and within a few weeks her constipation stopped, she started sleeping through the night again and eating improved! She is now 10 1/2 months and starting to wean off of the Zantac. She loves to eat and feed herself and we do not have any of the problems she was experiencing at the same time as she was taking the prevacid. The doctor may say prevacid is better than Zantac but I totally disagree and have heard other parents same the same thing. I hope this helps. Hang in there.

My son had issues with swallowing, too. From the time he was a month old all the way until after he turned 1 year. He had to only eat the most pureed of baby foods for the longest time, and that started when he was around 8 months old, so he was behind slightly. I had issues with his daycare because they wanted to feed him regular solid food (per the State rules) and he couldn't handle it. He'd gag and throw up when we tried to feed him anything other than stage 1 foods. Finally, we learned he had a texture aversion and we just dealt with it until he outgrew it. He wasn't able to eat his birthday cake because it made him gag. Finally, around 14-15 months old we were able to feed him Stage 3 baby foods and slowly worked our way up. He's now 27 months and is eating fine. It was a long process and a lot of stressful meals (he'll still gag occasionally, but it's getting more & more infrequent). We were referred to a speech therapist to help us out. For us, it was more of a patience test than anything else. I know it's a stressful ordeal, but (hopefully) with time, it should go away.

Good luck!
R.