Gastroesophgeal Reflux...GER

Hi E.
My son had GEr also he was hospitiaze ofr 3 days. The only thing we could really does was feed him often. He threw so much that it seems he was hungry all the time. They gave him medicine. But my hasband and i decided not give it to him because he was so young. We didn't do a lot off rocking because he would throw up. we also started to feed him cereal early. This thicken the milk and this helped some. He grew out of it slowly the more solids he ate and the less milk it cleared up on its own. Good luck

Both my children had GER my son who is 3 had it and we didn't know until he was 1. Now my daughter had/has it she is 1. Lots of spitting up. She has been on meds since she was 2 weeks old, she was awful for the first 3 months until we started putting oatmeal in her formual. Then she gained lots. She is now 1 and is still on meds and still spits up. Oh- she used the wedge for 3 months. I don't know where you live but I have one. Let me know if this helps. If your doctors doesn't help , my doctor was great.

What signs are you seeing? Does your other child have GER? Does she have difficulty breathing at night?
instead of a wedge you could put pillows under the mattress or have her sleep in a carrier until the doctor visit.
My 12 year old had severe reflux as a baby. He was tested for the severity when he was 1 year old. They admitted him for 48 hours and ran an electrode down his nose and into his tummy. He slept in his carrier or swing until we could get a wedge for him. He also had surgery for Pyloric Stenosis when he was 2 weeks old. He would have projectile vomiting because nothing could move past the pyloris (a muscle around the intestine that contracts to push food trough) in his digestive tract.

It's been awhile since your initial post about your daughter's GERD. A few more thoughts: A sling (NoJo, for example, makes and sells them at Babies R US) can be really helpful in keeping your baby semi-upright and keeping her sort of swaddled as well as close to your warmth -- all comforting things when having gut/gastro pain. Plus, don't we all find it comforting (for ourselves!) to have our babies close when we know they're feeling under-the-weather. Many friends have had their babies on Zantac/Xantac (sp?) to great success. Do what you have to. Trust your own gut (no pun intended). All the best!

My son has severe reflux since birth and he is now 2 1/2 years old. We elevate his bed as well and that seems to work a little. However, some more suggestions would be,

1.Do not feed him 1 hour before bed time - or a half hour before bed which ever works best.

2.Avoid laying down for 2hours after eating.

3. avoid fatty foods such as citrus juice, tomatoe products, and carbonated products.

4. The doctor may recommend a medication to help. If they do give it to the baby 1/2hour before eating his evening meal. That will help with sleeping.

My sons was so bad he ended up having a surgery called Fundoplication. I think it worked for a little while but not anymore since we just went up on his meds. I doubt your doctor would recommend that but if they do I would not do it!

Hope it works out for you!
Barb

Hi E.,

My doctor told us to put books or something similar to raise the head of my son's crib rather than moving the mattress, which she said could pose some type of danger. My daughter loved being snug in her carseat, so we put her in her carseat and then in her crib. This eliminated having to raise her crib. We ended up having to put my son on formula with added rice, which thickened what he was drinking and helped it stay down. We used Enfamil AR. I don't know if there are more recent formulas, but that helped the most. Good luck!

I, myself, have reflux. I would suggest propping the mattress up with a pillow or placing wooden blocks under the the feet of the crib that are by her head. That should help with the acid that is coming up. I also, however, thought my daughter had reflux because she was spitting up a lot in her first few weeks. The dr. told me that she was just over full and getting rid of the excess. Since then, she's not been spitting up as much. I try to burp her frequently during feedings and keep her upright for 30 minutes after feedings. Good luck to you!!!

Keep in mind that newborns can sometime have a very immature digestive system, leading to GERD-like symptoms. Since you're going to your doctor tomorrow, you should be able to find out for sure. I'd be curious to know what symptoms she is presenting. Our son was a 'happy spitter', so he used to spit up a lot. He was spitting up 12-15 times a day (on breastmilk, believe it or not...and yes, I altered my diet to the Nth degree before finally giving him formula for this ridiculous spitting up....wow, did that make all the difference in the world! He's so much happier since). We have him stay upright for 30-60 minutes after a feeding, try not to bounce or jiggle him around during that time, and get a really good burp out of him when burping. Now, he only spits up maybe 1-2 times per day and sometimes not even at all. His 'happy spitting' in not painful to him whatsoever; he'll spit up and laugh and go about his business.

Let me be very clear (before others have a panic attack) - If you are breastfeeding, I do NOT mean to imply that since my child had problems with the nursing you should stop too. I'm positive our situation was a very unique one and much different from yours.

A good friend of mine has a 2 month old that is showing signs of GER as well and instead of purchasing a wedge or sleep positioner they decided to place a rolled up towel under the head of the mattress of the crib and bassinet (since they use both). I know that this worked, saved them time and money, and helped their daughter immensely. Again, the towel is not near the infant, it is under the actual mattress.
I hope that helps.
Good luck,

M.
mom to Grace 9/8/2006

I'm not sure what your daughter is feeling. Check out www.icpa4kids.org and www.mercola.com. Do a search. They should have some helpful suggestions. Good Luck. (and Congrats on the new girl!!)

Hi E., both of my kids had/have reflux. My 4 year old outgrew it by the time he was 1, and my 11 month old is still showing signs.

They were both put on medication at 2 weeks old, zantac for the first, and zantac + prevacid for my daughter.

It is painful for them, and damaging to their esophagus. My son spit up A LOT, but my daughter doesn't. She has what's called silent relux, where it comes up but not out, and has to go back down which is twice as painful. The medications work differently, some neutralize the acids and others help lessen production of the acids.

I second the rolling up the towel under the mattress until you can get a wedge...other ideas are feeding smaller amounts more frequently, keep her upright for at least 30 minutes after each feeding, we also put rice cereal in their bottles (some peds are ok with this, others say it doesn't help at all....but I could see a major difference with both kids)

I'm not sure if you're breastfeeding or formula feeding, but I would also suggest asking the dr about milk and/or soy allergy. The symptoms are very similar to reflux and a lot of the times go hand in hand...screaming, obvious stomach pain, spitting up (sometimes) Both of my kids were also allergic to milk and soy. We had to give them both a special formula (alimentum).

It's a long road for some in getting the right diagnosis and treatment. Don't give up and if you know something just isn't right with her, don't take no for an answer. We had a tough time with our ped actually admitting our first had reflux (she just kept saying he was colicky) If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me. I hope she's feeling better soon, poor thing.

E.

I have two sons my youngest is 11mths he had GER when he was a baby too up until about 5mths night was also th worst for us too. One thing that helped us was a bouncy seat that is what he slepp in most of the time right next to our bed it was I think the semi upright position and that vibration helped him . We also saw a specialist in Rockford who was excelent he told us it not really pain ful for them although they can be uncomfortable . My son was fine in every other way he just digested thing a little on the slow side so that caused his GEr. But another thing that worked is small more frequent feedings and then when I stopped BF we used soy formula Isomil wich is the same price as regular formula. Hope some of this helps you . Hang in there I know its tough I remeber all the sleppless nights and worry but for some encouragement most babys groe out of it and when they start cereal and baby food it seems to get extremely better.

S.

A little about me:
SAHM of 2 beautiful(bouncing off the wall)boys but I wouldn't change it for the world.

My son had GERD. Once he hit 11 months it finally started to subside. He was on zantac for quite a while. He would just throw up constantly and therefore always seem a little hungry. Try and make sure you burp him well. And have him sit up (even if it means holding) for a little bit after you feed him. Good luck. It can be rough with a GERD baby.

I have read that drinking more water is very helpful.
It's worth a try. I know what works in some isn't necessarily what works for others, however I was at a nutrition seminar about 2 years ago and the doctor indicated that water is helpful.
I'm just passing along what I heard

My daughter still has GER and is one year old now. What worked for us during the really difficult nights was to have her sleep in her carseat (strapped in of course). I would never have even thought about doing this until an ER doc told us too. It helped her a lot. Once she gets more mobile though you'll have to go back to the crib. By the way, some docs will tell you the carseat will make the reflux worse, but I just had to laugh when they told me that because I knew from experience, at least for my daughter, that is helped. My daughter is on prevacid and it has worked wonders for her. Best of luck, hang in there.

If you are breastfeeding it is possible that an overabundant supply is causing her GERD-like symptoms. This is a somewhat common problem. A extra strong letdown can cause baby to suck in air and swallow too much milk, leading to GER symptoms. A good way to test it would be to pump for a minute or so before nursing to lessen the force of the milk. Also try reclining/laying down on your back to nurse to lessen the strength of the flow of the milk into baby's mouth. If you try these things and notice a reduction in problems in the baby this may be your answer. I would recommend seeing a lactation consultant if you think this is the case. Also, this is why somewhat who begins bottlefeeding instead may see an improvement in the baby- the problem wasn't the milk, it was the way it was delivered.

If this isn't the case, I wish you luck in getting to the bottom of it. I have heard that meds and other things (propping bed, etc) can be very helpful. Congrats on the new baby.