Infant Reflux - Portland,OR

I'm so sorry to hear that you are having to deal with this. I'm sure that it breaks your heart and brings you endless frustration as it did with me. My son had reflux too. I think that it was around 4 weeks he had an upper GI done to diagnose it. We ended up putting him on Zantac. He had to take it as much as 4 times a day until he was almost a year old. The dr. gave us previcid first because you don't have to give it as often, but it didn't work for our son. The Zantac made a HUGE difference. He still did spit up and I really had to watch what I ate (nursing). Foods that generally cause more acid for you pretty much do the same for your baby. I tried gripe water after many people recommended it, but it made no noticable changes with my son after using it regularly. My doctor also ended up recommending that I start him on rice cereal a little early. We started at 3 1/2 months. I've heard of people starting as early as 3 to help. It also did help us.

I hope that this helps in some way. My son is 2 1/2 today and has no problems at all with it today. The first year was horrible and I hope that you have a good support system to help you if it does turn out to be bad reflux. If nothing else email me and I'll help you get through it!

Blessings,
T.

Hi R.,
Both my girls had bad reflux. With my oldest...
I started by keeping a food diary to see if what I ate made a difference in her reflux. I noticed that whenever I ate chocolate or had a diet coke she really would get an upset belly.
With my youngest... we had to put her on medication. She had a really bad episode and we had to call 911 and she was in the hospital for a day. This is of course REALLY extreme but the meds (I think is was Zantac?) made a huge difference in her. At about 9 months she was totally over it.
When I would feed her I would have her basically sitting up facing me propped up. This would help a little bit....
Best of luck to you!!
MB

My daughter had reflux, as well. The arching and spit up are pretty good signs.

There are a few things you can do to help him be more comfortable:
* Smaller, more frequent feedings. His tummy is so small, it's quick to fill up and push the milk back up his throat.
* Keep him upright for 30 minutes after each feeding. You can put him in a carrier, bouncy seat or in a swing.
* At night, you could consider a wedge to keep him upright. You can get a Tucker wedge:
http://www.infantreflux.org/tucker_wedge_sling.htm
The key is to get him laying at a 45 degree angle.
* If he doesn't use a pacifier, you may consider it. It will encourage the production of saliva, which helps to calm the acid in his tummy.
* If he's really uncomfortable and isn't sleeping or eating well, take him to the doc for a possible perscription. There are a lot of options. My daugther was on oemeprazole (Prilosec) for several months. It doesn't taste as horrible as Zantac and it works a little differently. We were able to wean her off at around 8 months.

Good luck and hope your little one is feeling better soon!

Cranio Sacral Therapy!!!!
www.kwanyinhealingarts.com

My lil man started screaming from day 2 or 3 and finally I asked the doctor to try some Ranitidine which is Zantac and It helped ALOT with the spitting up and some of the Screaming too!

Hope this helps!